Presbyopia and hyperopia are eye conditions that impact your ability to see up close. While they both affect near vision, they’re distinct conditions with different root causes.
Understanding the difference between presbyopia and hyperopia is an important step in finding the best way to improve your vision in Tampa. Read on to learn more about these conditions, how they differ, and how to seek treatment.
What is Presbyopia?
Presbyopia is a normal part of the aging process. Time causes chemical changes in the eye’s natural lens that make it less flexible. This makes the natural lens less able to change shape so it can’t change focus from far to near. This can cause blurriness while reading, sewing, and doing other up-close tasks. People with presbyopia also often experience eye strain and headaches from trying to focus their eyes during these tasks.
What is Hyperopia?
Hyperopia is more commonly known as farsightedness in Tampa Bay. With hyperopia, rays of light are focused behind the eye in varying amounts. This makes both distance and near objects blurry. Since near vision is more affected than distance–the distance is less blurry, especially for the young. When over 45 years old, it is blurry everywhere.
The body tries to compensate for hyperopia but using some of the natural lens ability to flex to add power so that distance and then near objects come into focus. As presbyopia becomes a factor, the lens can gradually become less able to help. The patient will usually require some degree of magnifying lens for the distance and an even stronger one for the objects up close.
How are Presbyopia and Hyperopia Treated?
Presbyopia and hyperopia can be treated with glasses or contact lenses to restore your near vision. Alongside these solutions, Dr. Mahootchi offers leading Tampa Bay presbyopia and farsightedness treatments, including:
- LASIK eye corrective surgery, a laser procedure that reshapes the eye by removing ultra-thin layers from the corneal tissue
- PRK, an alternative laser vision correction procedure to LASIK that doesn’t require a flap to be repositioned at the end of the procedure
- Clear Lens Replacement with Presbyopia Correcting Intra-Ocular Lenses. This lens surgery is similar to cataract surgery but with modifications to give long-lasting results for both distance and near vision and everything in between. Dr. Mahootchi has over 25 years of experience with this type of surgery and is consistently mentioned as one of the best eye surgeons in Tampa Bay by patient reviews. Check out our excellent patient reviews online here.
If you’re struggling with blurry near vision in the Tampa Bay area, The Eye Clinic of Florida is here for you. Reach out to us today to schedule an appointment!