Do I have 老花 (presbyopia) or merely long-sightedness?
Do I Have Presbyopia or Merely Long Sightedness?
Presbyopia 老花
Presbyopia is a condition that caused by loss of elasticity of the lens in changing focus. It is an age-related process that occurs typically in middle and old age. Onset age is usually around 40 years old.
Long-sightedness (Hyperopia)
The medical term for long-sightedness is hyperopia. Long-sighted people can see distant objects but have difficulty seeing up close. Long-sightedness (hyperopia) is a completely different condition from presbyopia or 老花。Presbyopia is caused by inflexibility of the crystalline lens in changing focus, whereas hyperopia is caused by shorter eyeball or the eyeball has too little refractive power.
Symptoms of hyperopia
Not all hyperopic patients will experience visual symptoms such as red or tearing eyes, eye fatigue, squinting, headache, intermittent blurred vision, or difficulty with reading. Young patients with sufficient focusing reserve will be able to maintain clear images at both distance and near without producing symptoms mentioned above. However, older patients and patients with lower focusing reserve can be affected greatly by the symptoms if the hyperopia left uncorrected.