COPING WITH HYPEROPIA
Hyperopia or farsightedness occurs when light rays are focused behind the retina instead of directly on the retina. People with hyperopia cannot see near or distant objects without a focusing effort. Younger individuals (under the age of 40) are usually capable of coping with this phenomena by changing their point of focus or "accommodating" for this condition. However, starting at about age 35 to 40, they gradually lose this ability and first experience increasing difficulty in seeing near objects. Eventually objects may become less clear. To correct hyperopia, spectacles or contact lenses may be used. As individuals age, they may require two separate pairs of spectacles, one for distance and another for near, or the use of bifocals, or multifocals. Sometimes, the spectacle correction has to be so strong that some visual distortion occurs.