Have you ever wondered, am I nearsighted or farsighted? What’s the difference anyways?
This vision concept can sometimes be tricky to understand. So let’s explain the difference between nearsighted and farsighted.
An easy way to find out is by looking at your glasses or contact lens prescription.
If your eyes are nearsighted, under “SPH” or “Sphere” the number or power is negative or has a (-) in front of the number. For example, looking at my glasses prescription, you can see I have -1.75 power of nearsightedness for my right eye (OD) and -2.00 for my left eye (OS).
If your eyes are farsighted, under “SPH”, the number is a plus number or (+) in front of the number. Here is a copy of a farsighted contact lens prescription.
Side note: Looking at your glasses or contact lens prescription, you may be wondering what does the “CYL” mean. It’s short for CYLINDER power which reflects your astigmatism correction. Most of the time, CYL or astigmatism power is indicated by a negative or (-) number. The “CYL” number doesn’t reflect whether you are nearsighted or farsighted but it means you have an astigmatism correction on your prescription.
To learn the tricky concept of astigmatism – CLICK HERE
But what if you don’t have a prescription on hand? How can you tell if you are nearsighted or farsighted? It’s fairly easy, let’s explains how you can figure it out.
Nearsighted or sometimes referred as the medical term myopia, means you can see close but not far. Nearsighted eyes have “near sight” but far sight or vision is blurred.
Without glasses or contact lenses, if you can see close objects clearly but have trouble seeing distance objects you are probably nearsightedness. Common signs that you are nearsighted include blurry night time vision and squinting to see clearly.
Farsighted is just the opposite. Shocking right? Farsightedness or sometimes referred as the medical term hyperopia, means you can see far objects but have a harder time seeing close objects. Most farsighted people, especially if under 40 with a low amount of nearsightedness, you can see both distance and near clearly. If you are farsighted, you might notice eye strain and fatigue after long sessions of reading or computer use.
Both nearsightedness and farsightedness are easily corrected with glasses, contact lenses and if a good candidate LASIK. In some cases, someone can be nearsighted in one eye and farsighted in another eye.
Can you figure out whether you are nearsighted or farsighted now?
Still don’t know if you are nearsighted or farsighted?
We have the answer. Just text us: (909)627-1111
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The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions. Bright Vision Optometry is a family-owned & operated optometry office located in Chino Hills, CA 91709.