Farsightedness (hyperopia) occurs when light rays that enter the eye do not focus directly on the retina, in fact they would come to focus behind it. This is caused when the length of the eye itself is shorter than it should be. People can be affected by hyperopia at any age. Some childred will actually outgrow this condition, as they grow, so do their eyes. But if they don’t, eyeglasses or contact lenses can be used to treat hyperopia. In some cases some reading glasses can be of assistance. Lasik or other corrective surgeries may also be an available option.

Presbyopia, on the other hand, also causes one to have difficulty reading close up, but it is age-related, and affects people over 40. It is caused by the hardening of the lens inside the eye. The result is the same as hyperopia: poor near vision. Generally, this is treated with corrective lenses. reading glasses are commonly used to bring clarity to objects at near distances. Another option is to use contact lenses for monovision, when one eye is corrected for distance vision and the other corrected for near vision. Wearers then train themselves to use one eye for reading and the other eye for seeing things in the distance. Contact lenses can also be fit as progressive multifocals, similar to progressive channel eyeglasses.

Hyperopia only effects a smaller portion of the population and there are surgical options to correct it. Presbyopia will eventually effect us all, but until very recently was not treated with surgery. When the lens inside the eye loses its ability to flex and adjust focus, seeing up close is extremely difficult, that is when it is time for treatment. Though a couple surgical options are available for presbyopia, nothing beats the safe and affordable option of reading glasses. They are completely safe to wear and are very stylish as well. If losing your clear close vision due to presbyopia is a foregone conclusion, you may as well be fashionable when doing so.