When discussing the terms Nearsightedness and Farsightedness, you must be aware of ‘Refractive errors’. As they including Astigmatism are common eye disorders, which are all types of refractive errors.

Refractive error means that your eye is unable to bend the light correctly and is not able to focus light rays at the retina resulting in a blurred image. There are four major and common types of refractive errors, which are:

• Nearsightedness (Myopia)

• Farsightedness (Hyperopia)

• Presbyopia (Loss of near vision with age)

• Astigmatism

Most people get confused between nearsightedness and farsightedness, so let’s discuss what exactly are these eye disorders one by one.

What is Nearsightedness?

In healthy eyes, the light focuses directly on the retina, but this is not the case with people suffering from refractive errors. In nearsightedness, the light rays are not focused on the retina but in front of it, resulting in a blurred vision of all the distant objects.

Being nearsighted solely means that the person can only view near objects clearly and not the distant ones. The nearsighted eyeball is shaped more like an oval and is not ideally round. It is also known as Myopia or Myopic eye.

Mostly, nearsightedness is caused by a natural alteration in the shape of the eyeball and is not the result of any eye disease. There are rare circumstances under which nearsightedness may happen due to any other eye condition or diseases. It is often an inherited condition and usually begins in childhood, and later stabilizes in late teens or early twenties.

What is Farsightedness?

If you have understood what nearsightedness is, it won’t take much of your time to get what exactly happens in farsightedness. The farsighted eye focuses the light ray behind the retina and not on it, resulting in a blurred vision. Therefore, the near vision in the farsighted eye is blurry, whereas the distant objects are apparent to viewers. This condition is also known as Hyperopia or Hyperopic eye.

Farsightedness, when diagnosed in children’s or teens, can be corrected with contact lenses or glasses. However, it is mostly diagnosed in adults with 40 or more age. It’s because with progressive aging human eye lose their flexibility and ability to focus the light rays accurately on the retina.

A standard eye checkup can assist you in diagnosing refractive errors in your eyes. Eye disorders such as Myopia and Hyperopia are much prevalent and can be readily improved with eyeglasses and contact lenses. So, if you or your dear one is having difficulty viewing things up close or at distance, you must immediately schedule an appointment with your ophthalmologist for an eye exam. However, there are several natural ways to prevent such refractive errors too. Practicing proper eye exercises and consuming a healthy diet is an effective way to keep your eyes healthy and sharp.