Nearsighted vs. Farsighted

If you find yourself squinting to see street signs, the computer screen at work or a picture hanging across the room, it’s likely you are nearsighted. Maybe you have to hold a book far away to read it, have trouble reading the fine print on medicine labels or reading a map. Or maybe you simply experience tiredness or fatigue after reading and looking at things up close for a while. If that’s the case, it’s likely you are farsighted. 

To put it simply, nearsightedness is when a person can see better close up than far away and farsightedness is when a person can see better far away than close up. 

In normal vision, light enters the eye and is perfectly focused onto the retina, providing a clear view, no matter how near or far the object in view is located. Nearsighted vision focuses on an image before it reaches the retina, often caused when the curve of the cornea is too steep. Just the opposite, farsighted vision focuses on an image behind the retina, occurring when the cornea is too flat or the eye is too short. 

Both nearsightedness and farsightedness are frustrating and interfere with daily activities and quality of life, but there is good news. Both conditions can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, corneal reshaping, or surgery. The best approach can be determined by our optometrist, Dr. Williamson.

We sat with Dr. Williamson to ask her about these conditions since they affect so many people.  She explained that nearsightness, or myopia, can not only be treated, but also prevented. Today, three methods have been shown to be effective in slowing the progression of myopia in kids: low dose atropine use, corneal reshaping, and specialized contact lenses.

If you want to learn more about varying vision correction and treatment options, call our Novi office today and we’ll get you setup with the appropriate corrective action before your vision continues to deteriorate.