Hypermetropia: symptoms and treatment

What is hypermetropia?

Hypermetropia is the medical term for ‘long-sightedness, which means that you can see things in the distance clearly, but things up close look blurry or out of focus. It is a common vision condition and the degree of hypermetropia influences your focusing ability. 

What are the symptoms of hypermetropia?

Hypermetropia is usually a hereditary condition, so it can be present at birth. Symptoms of hypermetropia include:

• Finding it difficult to read a book up close - the writing may appear blurry.
• Squinting or straining your eyes to see nearby objects clearly.
• Experiencing headaches, and general eye discomfort. 

What causes hypermetropia?

Hypermetropia happens when your eyeball can’t focus the light onto the retina at the back of the eye properly, causing things to appear blurry.

It’s still unclear what may cause this issue, but as mentioned above in some cases it can be hereditary. It can also be caused when the lenses in your eyes are getting stiffer as you get older and less able to focus.

Is there a treatment available for hypermetropia?

If you think you may be long-sighted you should book an appointment for an eye test. An Optometrist will run through various tests to understand whether a prescription is needed to correct any long-sightedness. If required, glasses or contact lenses will be prescribed. 

Eyecare for all under 16s (or under 19 in full time education) is fully funded by the NHS so you won’t have to pay for your child’s eye test. Plus, they are entitled to an NHS eyecare voucher to help towards the cost of glasses and contact lenses.

Read more about NHS Eye Care here.

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