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What Does Farsighted Mean?
Published by Direct Sight | Eye Care Guide
If you've ever found yourself holding a menu at arm's length, squinting at your phone, or noticing that you have a headache after a long stretch of reading. You may already have encountered farsightedness without knowing it. Understanding what the term actually means is the first step to doing something about it.
The simple explanation
Farsightedness, known medically as hyperopia, or long-sightedness in British English, is a refractive error. That just means the eye isn't bending light in quite the right way to produce a sharp image. In a perfectly focused eye, light entering through the cornea and lens converges to a precise point on the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. The retina then translates that light into signals sent to the brain, and you see clearly.
In a farsighted eye, the focal point lands behind the retina rather than on it. The image reaching the retina is therefore slightly blurry. Particularly for things that are close to you, where the eye has to work hardest to focus. Distance vision often remains relatively clear, at least in mild to moderate cases, which is where the 'far-sighted' label comes from.
What causes it?
The underlying cause is almost always structural. Either the eyeball is slightly shorter from front to back than it should be, or the cornea, the clear outer dome of the eye, is flatter than average, or both. In either case, the optical power of the eye is insufficient to focus light squarely where it needs to land.
If one or both parents are long-sighted, there is a meaningful chance their children will be affected by farsightedness. Interestingly, most babies are born with some degree of hyperopia. The eye is proportionally short at birth and usually grows into correct focus during childhood. When that process of natural 'emmetropisation' doesn't fully complete, the result is a person who remains farsighted into adult life.
How does it feel? The everyday symptoms
The symptoms of farsightedness can be surprisingly subtle. Particularly in younger people, whose eye muscles are flexible enough to compensate by exerting extra focusing effort. This compensation, called accommodation, can mask mild hyperopia almost entirely. Over time, though, that sustained effort takes a toll, and the following symptoms tend to emerge:
| Symptom | What you may notice |
|---|---|
| Difficulty reading up close | Books, menus, or screens appear blurry at normal reading distance. |
| Headaches | Headaches around the forehead or behind the eyes often after reading or screen use. |
| Eye strain and fatigue | Tired or heavy eyes after prolonged close work. |
| Squinting to read | Narrowing the eyes to temporarily sharpen blurry text. |
| Burning or aching eyes | Soreness or discomfort around the eyes caused by focusing effort. |
Farsightedness in children: why it matters
Uncorrected long-sightedness (hyperopia) in children can affect how their vision develops. When a child struggles to focus on close objects, the eyes may begin to turn inward. This causes a squint known as accommodative esotropia. If one eye is more long-sighted than the other, the brain may start to ignore the blurrier eye, which can lead to amblyopia, or “lazy eye.”
Both conditions are easier to treat when detected early, which is why regular eye examinations for children are so important.
How is farsightedness corrected?
Prescription glasses remain the most straightforward correction for hyperopia. The type of correction prescribed depends on the degree of hyperopia and the patient's age and lifestyle:
Single vision lenses
For straightforward farsightedness with a single prescription throughout the lens, generally the appropriate choice for younger adults and children.
Reading glasses
In milder cases where distance vision is unaffected, reading glasses worn just for close work can be a practical solution.
Bifocal lenses
Provide two optical zones within a single lens, typically one for distance and one for close work, without the gradual transition of a varifocal.
Varifocal lenses
Offer a continuous gradient of focusing power from distance through intermediate to near, particularly as presbyopia develops alongside hyperopia.
Where the prescription is stronger, high-index lenses can reduce the thickness and weight of the finished lens significantly, which is particularly worth considering for more noticeable prescriptions.
Contact lenses and laser eye surgery are also established alternatives for eligible candidates.
Farsightedness and ageing
Farsightedness is not the same as presbyopia, though the two are often confused because both cause difficulty with near vision.
Presbyopia is an age-related change that affects virtually everyone from around their mid-40s onwards. It occurs as the natural lens inside the eye loses its flexibility and can no longer accommodate as effectively. Someone who has been farsighted all their life will typically find that presbyopia becomes apparent earlier than those who were previously emmetropic (correctly focused). This is because their eye's focusing system was already under additional strain.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Am I farsighted or long-sighted, is there a difference?
'Farsighted' is the American English term, 'long-sighted' is the equivalent British English term used by the NHS and most UK optometrists. The clinical term, used in prescriptions and medical records across both countries, is hyperopia (or hypermetropia, which means the same thing).
If your prescription shows a plus value eg. +1.50, you are long-sighted. See our guide to understanding your glasses prescription for a full explanation of what the numbers mean.
Can farsightedness improve on its own?
In children, mild farsightedness sometimes resolves naturally as the eye grows to its full size. A process that typically completes during teenage years.
In adults, however, hyperopia does not improve without intervention. It tends to become more noticeable over time as the eye's natural ability to compensate (accommodation) diminishes with age. Corrective lenses, glasses or contact lenses, or refractive surgery are the established routes to clear vision.
What type of glasses do I need if I'm farsighted?
This depends on your age and the degree of farsightedness. Younger adults with a moderate prescription often do well with single vision lenses for all-day wear. Those who find their distance vision unaffected may prefer reading glasses just for close tasks. If you also need correction at a distance, or if presbyopia has begun to affect your near vision as well as the underlying hyperopia, varifocal lenses or bifocal lenses may be recommended.
Your optometrist will advise on the most appropriate option for your prescription, lifestyle and vision condition.
Can children be farsighted?
Yes, and it is actually very common in young children. Most babies are born with a degree of hyperopia that typically resolves as the eye grows during childhood.
When it persists or is significant, it should be addressed. Partly to enable comfortable near vision for learning, and partly because uncorrected hyperopia in children can lead to complications. These include a squint (accommodative esotropia) or a lazy eye (amblyopia). Early detection through regular optometric examinations is the most effective way to prevent these outcomes.
Is farsightedness the same as needing reading glasses?
Not quite, though both conditions produce difficulty with close vision. Farsightedness (hyperopia) is caused by the structural shape of the eye, and can affect people at any age, including children.
Needing reading glasses later in life is more commonly a sign of presbyopia, an age-related loss of the eye's ability to flex and focus. A process that is separate from hyperopia, although the two can coexist. A full eye examination is the only reliable way to distinguish between them.
Will wearing glasses make my farsightedness worse?
No, this is a persistent myth that has no clinical basis. Wearing the correct prescription does not cause the eye to 'become lazy' or worsen the underlying refractive error. Farsighted children particularly, wearing the prescribed correction is important precisely to allow the visual system to develop properly. Continuing to strain without correction is more likely to cause problems, including headaches and eye fatigue, than wearing glasses is.
Where can I buy glasses for long-sightedness online?
Direct Sight offers a wide range of prescription glasses online suitable for farsighted prescriptions, starting from £9.
All lenses are made in our own UK laboratory in Amersham.
Browse our full range find your perfect pair of glasses. If you have a stronger prescription, our high-index lens options can produce a slimmer, lighter result. Not sure which lens type is right for you? Our eyecare section has guides to help, or you can call our team on 01494 307 345.
References
NHS, long-sightedness (Hyperopia)
College of Optometrists, hyperopia: Clinical Management Guidelines
Royal College of Ophthalmologists, patient Information
University Hospitals Sussex NHS, hypermetropia (Long-sight)
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, hyperopia (Long-sightedness) in Children
NCBI Bookshelf (InformedHealth.org), farsightedness (Hyperopia): Overview
PMC / NCBI, childhood Amblyopia: Current Management and New Trends (2018)
National Eye Institute (NIH), farsightedness (Hyperopia)
RNIB, refractive Errors