Longsightedness Vs Shortsightedness

Longsightedness (hyperopia) and shortsightedness (myopia) are two common eye conditions that both cause blurry vision in different ways. Each condition changes the way light focuses on an eye’s retina, causing less focus in vision.

In people with shortsightedness, the eyeball has become too long. Due to this, the light that enters the eyeball falls short of the retina. As a result, objects that are far away don’t get enough light to the retina and therefore look blurry due to a lack of focus. Objects that are closer are not affected and appear in normal focus.

In long-sightedness, the opposite problem occurs. The eyeball is too short, and that means that light is focused on an area behind the retina instead of directly on it. This means that objects far away appear in normal focus, while objects close up are blurry. If there is enough hyperopia in an eyeball, it will be so short that objects at any distance will appear blurry.

In most cases, children are born with longsightedness. As the child grows, their eyeballs grow in length and generally reach the correct size so that the long-sightedness goes away. With shortsightedness, it is a condition that develops in early childhood and levels out in adolescence. The eyeball grows too much, causing short-sightedness.

Symptoms Shared in Both Conditions

Although they are opposite effects, both conditions share similar symptoms:

  • The strain on eye muscles
  • Headaches
  • Eye fatigue
  • Needing to squint to see clearly

Treatments For Longsightedness and Shortsightedness

The best way to treat the root cause of either of these conditions is through LASIK eye surgery. With LASIK, the retina is reshaped so that it can be in the correct location to catch the direct focus of light. This gets rid of longsightedness and shortsightedness.

You can treat these conditions without surgery, too. Using glasses or contact lenses, light can be bent before it reaches the eye so that it focuses directly on the retina. As long as you have your glasses or contacts, the problem will be treated, but the root cause will remain.

Fite Eye Center | Eye Exams, Glasses, Contacts, LASIK Surgery & More

If you struggle with longsightedness or shortsightedness and you’re tired of squinting, eye strain, and fatigue, we have solutions for you. We can start with an eye exam to properly diagnose your condition in order to provide the best treatment. From there, we can look into corrective lenses in the form of glasses or contacts, or we can look at LASIK for a permanent solution. Our caring experts will walk you through what each process would be like and answer any questions you have so that you can make an informed decision on which path is best for your lifestyle.