What causes hypermetropia?
Hypermetropia most commonly occurs because the eyeball is too short; that is, shorter from front to back than is normal. In some cases, the cornea having too little curvature may cause hypermetropia. Normal Eye Hypermetropic Eye Exactly why eyeball shape varies is not known, but the tendency for farsightedness is inherited. Other factors may be involved too, but to a lesser degree than heredity. How does hypermetropia affect sight? Our ability to “see” starts when light enters the eye through the cornea. The shape of the cornea and the lens help bend (refract) light rays in such a manner that light is focused into a point precisely on the retina. If, as in farsightedness, the eyeball is too short, the “point of light” focuses on a location behind the retina, instead of on the correct area of the retina, known as the fovea. Consequently, at the point on the retina where a fine point of light should be focused, there is instead a disk-shaped area of light. Since light is not focused when
