Farsightedness (Hyperopia): Exams And Tests

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Exams and Tests

A routine eye exam can detect farsightedness (hyperopia) and other refractive errors, eye disease, and other diseases that can affect the eyes. A complete exam takes 30 to 60 minutes.

A routine eye exam includes:

• Medical history and physical exam. Your health professional will ask questions about your health, lifestyle, medications you are taking, and past eye problems. Questions about your family members may help determine whether you may have inherited eye problems.
• Vision tests (visual acuity, visual fields, and refraction).
• Slit lamp exam, an exam of the eye using a microscope.
• Tonometry, a measure of the pressure inside the eye, or intraocular pressure (IOP).
• Ophthalmoscopy, which allows a doctor to see inside the back of the eye (fundus) and other structures using a magnifying instrument (ophthalmoscope) and a light source.

Cycloplegic drops are often used in the diagnosis of farsightedness. When placed in the eye, they dilate the eye and make accommodation impossible so that the doctor can tell whether you are farsighted.

Early Detection

Routine testing of visual acuity (the ability to see details and shapes clearly) is usually a part of every general physical exam during childhood. The U.S. Preventive Screening Task Force recommends screening to detect amblyopia, strabismus, and defects in visual acuity in children younger than age 5 years.¹

• Eye exams for infants
• Eye exams for children and teenagers
• Eye exams for adults

In young children, photoscreening can be useful in diagnosing farsightedness. Photoscreening uses images captured from film or video and does not require cooperation from the child being examined.

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Last updated:	December 19, 2005
Author:	Kathe Gallagher, MSW
Reviewed By:	Martin Gabica, MD - Family Medicine, Carol L. Karp, MD - Ophthalmology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Tracy Landauer