Latent and manifest hyperopia question

[jameson542]

Hello, I have 0.75 manifest hyperopia (i.e. this shows up without dilating pupils) and then 0.5 latent that shows up with pupil dilation, for a total of +1.25. My eyes don't seem to handle +1.25 at all, so the maximum I ever wear is +1.00.

With the 1.00 glasses on, I get some blurriness at a distance, though not up close. My optometrist said that if I wear the glasses for long enough, my eyes should adjust to the +1.00 and the blurriness should be reduced.

As it stands, I use +1.00 for reading and +0.5-0.75 otherwise.

My question is, is it true that my eyes should adjust to +1.00 and that the blurriness at a distance should be reduced?

[Sandra M Brown, MD]

If the glasses help your headaches then your latent hyperopia is causing your headaches. It is unusual for a relatively low (normal) degree of latent hyperopia to cause headaches especially at a young age, but hey, you are how you are.

[jameson542]

Hi,

I am 25 and I wear glasses all the time or much of the time for the sake of "comfort." I get headaches quite a bit and it seems they are related to my eye sight. Perhaps they are not related to hyperopia but are instead related to concentration?  Is it really so irregular for a 25-year-old to wear glasses all the time for mild hyperopia?

Thank you very much for your help.

[Sandra M Brown, MD]

Why are you wearing glasses?  That is, how old are you?  With mild hyperopia such as yours, glasses should only be worn when needed.  If you are younger than 40, you might need glasses for prolonged reading or computer work but I would not predict that you would need glasses for distance activities such as driving.  There is no need for you to 'fight through' getting used to the +1 distance power - what for?  There is no advantage to you now or later.  If you are older than 40 and feel that a little power like +0.50 does help you to drive, then get progressive lenses that start out +0.50 at the top and build to +1.00 at the bottom.  This is an expensive way to go if you just need some generic cheap ($20) reading glasses - get 4 pair and leave them where you need them.