Myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism ... what are their differences?

We have heard of the myopia or presbyopia… But do you know how they manifest themselves or the differences between each one?

To start talking about vision problems, we have to make it clear that they are not independent of each other and that more than one can occur at a time. Therefore, in WomenwithStyle.com We want to bring you closer to the four most common eye problems and their differences. We will talk in a simple way what the myopia, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia.

Myopia:

It is the most common visual problem of all. The clearest symptom is having blurred vision from afar and it is more accentuated at night. The physiological reason for this problem is that the eye is larger than normal.

Glasses or contact lenses can be used to correct myopia. Usually he uses a pair of glasses with a lower prescription for everyday tasks, such as watching television or being with the computer and another pair for driving or viewing at a distance, with more magnification. There is another alternative to wearing glasses which is refractory surgery. The results are very good and, as advice, we ask you to consult your ophthalmologist so that he can advise us on this matter.

Farsightedness:

It is the opposite effect to that of myopia, it usually appears in eyes somewhat smaller than normal and the predominant symptoms are fatigue or headache when working closely, and if the hyperopia is higher, it will also affect the vision of far.

In this case, the best option is the use of glasses, since they should not wear them all day and if the hyperopia passes a certain level, contact lenses can also be used. For hyperopes, surgery is not the best solution.

Astigmatism:

Astigmatism is usually accompanied by some of the visual defects that we already mentioned, myopia or hyperopia. The clearest symptom of astigmatism is blurring both from far and near and is caused by a deformation of the cornea (the outermost part of the eye).

This visual defect can be corrected through the use of glasses, contact lenses or refractory surgery.

Presbyopia:

Also known as "eyestrain", it is an effect associated with age, which usually appears after the age of 40 and the most obvious symptoms are blurred near vision. The physiological reason for this problem is a lower accommodation of the lens (which is a lens that we have inside the eye) and that over the years has lost its ability to stretch and / or contract, which prevents us from focusing closely.
At first it only affects near vision and, little by little, it ends up affecting intermediate vision.

The best solution is bifocal glasses, which allow correction of the distance, the intermediate zone and the near zone to be carried out in a single lens.

As always, if you have any of these symptoms that we have detailed, we ask you to go to your ophthalmologist, who will be the one to give you the solution depending on your problem.