Hyperopia: Farsighted – Accidentally discovered in a 2 year old by teaching him to wink.
A person is classed farsighted/hyperopia when close objects are blurry and far objects will appear normal, when the condition worsens the objects at all the distances will become blurry.
I started teaching my son to wink just after he turned two, it took a few weeks for him to learn with his right eye and then we started to practice with his left eye which took quite a bit longer. He was very dedicated and practiced this winking business as often as he could. A few months down the line I started to notice that he is not practicing winking anymore but is closing the one eye for a longer period of time to focus on the person speaking to him from a distance. I immediately took him to an optometrist, he referred him to a specialist which diagnosed him with hyperopia and he received his first pair of specs. We never suspected he had sight problems as a baby as he did not squint and could pick up tiny little ants from a dark brown floor.
This condition occurs when the light is focused behind the retina instead of on the retina. It is a refractive error, a condition caused by an imperfection of the eyeball, lens (low converging power) or cornea (abnormal shape).
Hyperopia affects people over the age of 40, 2% of teenagers and 10% of toddlers, in some cases people with diabetes or blood vessels in the retina which are problematic can cause it too. When a child has this condition from birth it is due to the brain struggling to merge the images of each eye. These children do not see in detail and sometimes the one eye becomes dominant with the brain blocking the impulse of the other eye.
This condition is broken up into 3 categories: 1) Simple (biological diversity), 2) Pathological (trauma, disease, abnormal development), 3) Functional (paralysis).
There are also 3 levels of severity: 1) Low: refractive error is – than or = to +2.00 diopters, 2) Mod: refractive error is greater than +2.00+5.00 diopters, 3) High: refractive error greater than +5.00 diopters.
By the age of 13, my son’s sight weakened to a +8.00 in his right eye and a +7.75 in his left eye but has stabilized at this level for the past 7 years. He loves his sport, especially rugby and water-polo, I could see how he struggled to catch the ball and pass it on to the right person but he was an excellent defender. Even with this disability, he played for the A team since he was 14 till he turned 16 and then 1st team from 16-18 in both sports. By the age of 18, we hoped that he would be able to go for surgery but we were told to wait as the doctors find higher success rate in children older than 21.
Well, that day has arrived. My son will know by the 15th if he will be a good candidate for surgery. I am out of my skin with excitement as I know what all he had to endure because of this disability and how much more he will be able to appreciate everything around him. Objects will not only be silhouettes anymore but will be filled with detail.
Sources:
http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/hyperopia.htm
https://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/eye-and-vision-problems/glossary-of-eye-and-vision-conditions/hyperopia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far-sightedness
What an excellent article this was!
Not only does it have precise writing and excellent information, but the images chosen are perfect for this! It makes me wonder if you are working in this domain yourself!?
I want to thank you for this brilliant post, the second one about eyesight and vision in the past 10 minutes! The last one was written by @kus-knee: https://steemit.com/glasses/@kus-knee/the-old-dog-asks-with-this-computer-app-can-i-really-throw-away-my-glasses
Upvoted, resteemed and followed, finally... All for one and one for all! Namaste :)
Thank you very much eric-boucher, I truly appreciate your support.
Holding thumbs for your son, most interesting insight ;) into farsightedness.
Thank you very much lizelle. I know that what ever the outcome he will be fine with it. Enjoy a lovely weekend.
That's great that it was diagnosed so early in life! I wonder how many children are labeled with learning disabilities when they really have undiagnosed sight issues.
Also interesting that he plays rugby! I played all through college and have continued to play between injuries (my wife wants me to stop)!
Thank you jaredcwillis. He is short but very strong and an excellent player. I share your wifes' sentiment, this young man of mine had a serious concussion a few year ago which kept him from playing for three years, I thought this was the answer to my prayers but low and behold, the day he got the doctors approval he was back on that rugby field and is still playing.
It is an addictive game. I've played other sports but there's nothing like it. The elegance and simplicity, the multiple moving parts, the different roles on the team, and the comradery all combine to make the greatest game on earth. Hard to walk away from.
Very interesting article on Hyperopia. I learned a lot. My father was far sighted and needed glasses to do things close up. It is too bad we can't all be born with good eyesight! Thank-you @crazymumzysa for the wonderful learning opportunity! :D
Thank you cabbagepatch. We all have different challenges in life, this is his and when we grow older we all start losing some of our vision. Have a fantastic day!
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