Management of Hyperopia in Children

If a child is farsighted, their eyeball is slightly shorter than normal, so the visual image is focused behind the retina. As a result, objects appear blurred, fuzzy.

Almost all infants are born with physiologic hyperopia (farsightedness). However, as they grow older, their eyes grow in size along with the rest of their organs. The optical focus is gradually moving away from the area behind the retina, until light rays come to focus on the retina. This process lasts for about 7-9 years. But if during a child’s eye examination, you find that he or she is still hyperopic and the characteristics of the child’s eyesight are higher than his/her age norm, it can be congenital hypermetropia.

Congenital hypermetropia will not go away on its own. Such child needs to correct their vision issues by wearing corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Complications of Hyperopia

Children with mild hyperopia and their parents may be overlooking their vision problem for a long time. At a young age, the visual apparatus is able to compensate for mild cases of farsightedness. But as the child has to constantly strain their eyes, this leads to eye muscle strain and causes eye discomfort, headaches, a burning feeling in the eyes.

With medium and high degrees of farsightedness, the objects the child sees look blurry and fuzzy. If you fail to notice this in time and fix the problem, their visual acuity will deteriorate, and amblyopia will develop.

Symptoms of Hyperopia in Children

Since toddlers cannot tell how clearly they see the surrounding objects and pictures, their parents need to be very attentive and get their vision checked regularly with the ophthalmologist.

Some of the possible symptoms of vision problems, particularly farsightedness, are the following:

• a child keeps rubbing his or her eyes;
• blinks, squints excessively;
• tires quickly, complains of headaches;
• has trouble seeing small toys or objects;
• refuses to read, draw or participate in other activities that involve focusing on nearby objects.

Causes of Hyperopia

The most common cause is a genetic predisposition. If both parents or one of the close relatives is farsighted, the child can also suffer from the same vision disorder.

But a baby may develop hyperopia before birth and not inherit it from the parents.

Hyperopia Treatment

Farsightedness in children can be corrected with prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. At Okomedikas Clinic you can order corrective glasses or contact lenses specifically designed to counteract hyperopia. The right pair of glasses stimulates eye growth and helps reduce hypermetria. The eye doctor can also prescribe hardware treatment of your kid`s eyes, which includes various methods of visual stimulation.

The methods of childhood hyperopia correction are painless and well tolerated!

At Okomedikas Clinic you can get a comprehensive eye examination to make sure your child`s visual apparatus develops and functions properly. And if an eye disorder is found, our highly qualified eye doctors will help you choose the most appropriate treatment methods for successful and timely correction of their vision.