Farsightedness (Hyperopia)

Hyperopia (farsightedness) is a refractive error in which light rays refract behind the retina, resulting in a blurred image. The cause may be an eyeball that is too short or insufficient refractive power of the cornea or lens. Contrary to its name, a farsighted person often has difficulty seeing clearly at any distance – between 25-40 years of age, worse near vision is typical, and after 40 years of age, distance vision also deteriorates.

During laser correction of hyperopia, e.g., with the FemtoLASIK method, a greater corneal curvature is created, which increases the refractive power of the eye. Laser correction is effective for lower degrees of refractive error – farsightedness above +4 diopters is usually considered beyond the scope of laser treatment. The treatment method depends on the number of diopters and is determined individually during the preliminary examination.

Individuals who do not qualify for laser surgery can opt for ICL phakic lenses, which correct hyperopia up to +10 diopters, and for severe farsightedness, refractive lens exchange is also used. In the latter procedure, the natural lens is aspirated through a small incision in the cornea and replaced with a biocompatible acrylate lens. Both methods allow for independence from glasses.

The basis is a refraction examination – skiascopy or refractometry – and detailed eye diagnostics, based on which the doctor assesses the degree of the refractive error and selects the method: laser, phakic lens, or lens exchange. The conditions for the procedure are a stable refractive error and good eye health. The cost of the qualification examination is 400 PLN.

Both the implantation of a Visian ICL EVO/EVO+ phakic lens in the Hyperopic or Hyperopic Toric variant, and refractive lens exchange with a Premium implant, cost 11,000 PLN per eye. Procedures are performed at our clinics in Warsaw and Krakow. The National Health Fund (NFZ) does not reimburse them, but installment payments are available through Santander Consumer Bank.

Hyperopia is a refractive error resulting from the eye’s structure – an eyeball that is too short or an optical system with insufficient refractive power – and can occur at any age. Presbyopia, on the other hand, is not a refractive error, but a set of natural changes occurring in the eye with age, related to weakened accommodation. It can also appear in people who have never been diagnosed with any refractive error.

Yes. Farsightedness (hyperopia) is corrected with converging lenses, marked with a plus sign, e.g., +2.0 D. Minus lenses, or diverging lenses, correct nearsightedness.

The defect cannot be reversed with drops or exercises, but it can be permanently corrected. FemtoLASIK corrects hyperopia up to about +4 D, the ICL Hyperopic phakic lens up to +10 D, and after 45 years of age, refractive lens exchange resolves hyperopia and presbyopia in one procedure.

A young eye can compensate for low hyperopia with accommodative effort, so it sees sharply without glasses – at the cost of fatigue and headaches. With age, this reserve decreases, and glasses for near vision, and later also for distance vision, become necessary. Children with a higher degree of refractive error should wear correction constantly.

In children, physiological hyperopia decreases as the eyeball grows. In adults, the defect does not regress – on the contrary, after 40 years of age, it becomes more apparent because accommodation, which previously masked it, weakens.

Up to this age, the eye’s lens is flexible enough to compensate for the refractive error through accommodation. Around 40–45 years of age, flexibility decreases, and presbyopia sets in; hidden hyperopia combines with it, and reading without glasses becomes impossible. At this age, we most often recommend lens exchange or PresbyMAX instead of classic laser surgery.

Rapid eye fatigue when reading and working on a computer, headaches in the forehead area, burning eyes, blurred near vision, and eventually also blurred distance vision. In children: squinting, rubbing eyes, reluctance to read, convergent strabismus.