By Sophia Marcel

Do you have trouble seeing up close? you may have hyperopia. But it could also be presbyopia. Truth be told, they are both similar, but have different causes. As such, they have different treatments as well.

Hyperopia, or farsightedness, occurs when the light rays that enter the eye do not focus directly on the retina, but in fact, they focus behind it. This is caused when the eyeball is shorter than it should be. People can be affected by hyperopia at any age. Children sometimes outgrow this condition because their eyes grow as they do. But if not case, hyperopia can be treated with corrective lenses. Laser surgery, such as LASIK, is also an 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. Even if a person has never had vision problems before, he or she can still develop prosbyophia. While symptoms can present suddenly, presbyophia usually coccurs over a long period of time. Usually you start to notice the symptoms as you notice having to hold things at arm’s length to see clearly, eye strain, and fatigue.  Generally, this is treated with corrective lenses. Reading glasses, worn only when viewing things close up, are the most common treatment. Another choice is contact lenses to produce monovision, when one lens corrects the distance vision, if needed, and the other lens corrects the near vision.

Hyperopia is not inevitable, and it can be treated surgically. Presbyopia is inevitable, and until recently, was not generally treated with surgery. When eyes begin to lose flexibility and can no longer  see crisply and clearly close up, it is time for treatment. Though surgery for presbyopia has become available, the overwhelming majority of sufferers still choose the option of wearing reading glasses. They are safe, they do not require an invasive procedure, and they are stylish. If losing your clear close vision due to presbyopia is a foregone conclusion, you may as well be fashionable while doing so.

Dr Oz saids it best in that you can’t stop the aging process, but you can help to protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses with 99% UVB and 95% UVA ray protection.  Also, eat 3 cups of winter squash, which is high in beta carotene.  Lastly, get an eye exam every two years if you are under the age of 60, and get your eye’s checked every year when you are over 60.  You should get cataract exams as well, which you might want to start earlier if you have Diabetes.

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