Hypermetropia: what are the symptoms and how to treat it

By Cristiano Antonino On May 31, 2022

Although it is a rather common refractive defect, we hear little about hypermetropia, which tends to manifest itself with advancing age as the eye is able to focus by compensating for this congenital defect; however, up to a certain power and age when this ability is reduced

This is why the first symptoms, if one does not undergo a thorough eye examination beforehand, occur when this compensatory capacity diminishes.

Such individuals do not manifest any vision defects during their youth.

But what does hypermetropia consist of?

Unlike myopic patients, patients affected by this problem have difficulty seeing closer objects, which are blurred, while those further away will be sharper because they use their ability to focus not to see up close as is physiologically the case, but to compensate for the defect and see from a distance, so that this ability, which is exhausted for far away, is no longer available for close up.

This defect should not be underestimated even if it is asymptomatic as it can induce such strabismus and recurrent headaches and learning retardation due to unconscious visual effort.

What are the symptoms of hypermetropia?

In an adolescent or young adult, hypermetropia may manifest itself asymptomatically, whereas in older people and children, more obvious symptoms are not uncommon, which may lead to the need to correct the defect. In particular, typical symptoms of hypermetropia are blurred vision, soreness and burning in the eyes, eye fatigue, hypersensitivity to light, and headaches.

Hypermetropia can occur simultaneously with astigmatism and, always associated with increasing age, with presbyopia, which prevents the patient from focusing on closer objects.

One must consider that, in the case of infants and young children, hypermetropia is a very common problem, precisely because of the size of the eyeball, which adjusts with growth.

When, on the other hand, hypermetropia in children does not resolve itself with growth and is instead particularly pronounced, it can lead to the development of lazy eyes or strabismus: for this reason it is very important to recognise the defect and correct it early.

How is hypermetropia corrected?

First, the condition can be corrected with the use of lenses, whether glasses or contact lenses.

As in the case of myopia, hypermetropia is also assessed in dioptres, which, however, in this case, will have a progressive and positive numbering: not – 2, therefore, but 2.

The lenses used to correct this defect are convex, with the thickness tapering towards the edges, and structured to focus the convergence of light on a single focal point.

In certain cases, however, the ophthalmologist may consider refractive surgery for long-term correction of the problem.

The operation can be performed by means of an excimer laser, capable of perfectly centring each patient’s visual axis, which differs from time to time, without causing problems to the surrounding tissues.

In the case of older people, it is also possible to perform surgical correction of hypermetropia at the same time as cataract correction.

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