How to know if you're nearsighted or farsighted and the best ways to treat it

• Nearsighted means you can see objects nearby, but far away objects are difficult to see.
• Farsighted means you can see objects far away, but it's more difficult to see objects close to you.
• Both nearsighted and farsighted vision can be treated with glasses, contact lenses, or LASIK eye surgery.

Nearsightedness and farsightedness are two of the most common problems you can have with your vision.

If you're nearsighted, you can see objects nearby, but far away objects may look blurry. If you're farsighted, the opposite is true and it's harder to see things close-up.

While these vision problems can make life more difficult, both conditions are easily treatable. Here are the differences between being nearsighted and farsighted and the best ways to fix your vision.

What does it mean to be nearsighted?

If you're nearsighted, you are able to see things close to you clearly, like a laptop screen or a person sitting next to you. But when you look farther away, your vision might start to become blurry.

"For example, you may have trouble seeing distant road signs or the television screen across the room," says Meredith Remmer Klifto, MD, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In order for you to see clearly, light has to enter your eye through the pupil and come to a focus directly on the retina, the brain tissue in the back of the eye that captures light, says Phillip Yuhas, OD, PhD, a professor of optometry at Ohio State University.

But the shape of your eyeball can affect whether light will come to a focus in the right place, Yuhas says. "In people who are nearsighted, the light that enters the eye is focused in front of the retina, usually because the eye is too long." This means that your eye extends outward in an oval shape, making the distance between the front and back of your eye longer.

The shape of your cornea, the clear tissue at the front of your eye, can also affect how your eyes focus light. Nearsighted people tend to have a cornea that curves too sharply, which also causes light to focus in front of your retina.

About 40% of Americans are nearsighted. Nearsightedness often starts in your teenage years and may become more severe over time as you grow. This means you may need to go back to the eye doctor to change your prescription every year.

What does it mean to be farsighted?

If you're farsighted, it will be easiest for you to focus on far away objects like a clock on an opposite wall or a person across the street, while nearby objects may look blurry.

"You will have trouble seeing things that are close, such as the print in a book or the face of your wristwatch," Klifto says.

Like nearsightedness, farsightedness is also a result of the shape of your eyeball. "Eyes that are farsighted are usually too short, causing the light that enters the eye to come to a focus behind the retina," Yuhas says.

Farsighted people may also have a cornea that isn't curved enough, which can cause light to focus behind your retina.

Farsighted people are often born with a vision issue, but many will grow out of it after childhood. This is because your eyeballs change shape as you grow, which can often correct the condition. About 5% to 10% of Americans are farsighted.

Treatment for nearsighted and farsighted vision

Fortunately, there are effective treatments for both nearsighted and farsighted people that can help shift where light focuses in your eye.

Many people use glasses or contact lenses to correct their vision. "These devices bend light as it enters the eye in order to focus the light directly on the retina," Yuhas says.

• Glasses. If you are nearsighted, your glasses will be concave, meaning that they're thinner in the middle and thicker on the sides of the lenses. Farsighted glasses are the opposite, taking a convex shape. Glasses are the safest treatment option, since they don't actually enter or touch your eye.
• Contact lenses. These are soft lenses made from specialized plastic that sit directly on your cornea. Contacts work the same way as glasses, and while some people may find them more convenient, others may not want to put something in their eye. In addition, not all prescriptions can be treated with contact lenses, so you will need to consult with your eye doctor.

Glasses and contacts make your vision more clear while you're wearing them, but they won't cause any permanent changes to fix your eyesight.

For a permanent solution to nearsightedness or farsightedness, you can get surgical procedures to reshape your cornea, the clear tissue at the front of your eye. The shape of your cornea changes how your eyes focus light, so changing the shape can help move the focus point onto your retina and correct any vision problems.

The most common vision surgery is Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), which uses a laser beam to alter your cornea.

• For nearsightedness, an eye surgeon will remove part of your cornea or reshape it using a laser to make it more flat.
• For farsightedness, a surgeon will use a laser to reshape your cornea, making it more curved.

LASIK surgery may not completely correct your vision, but your prescription will decrease and you may not need to wear glasses much of the time. Lasik surgery tends to work best for people with mild nearsightedness and may not be as effective if you are farsighted or have a stronger prescription.

Insider's takeaway

Nearsightedness means that you can see objects closer to you, while far away things may be out of focus. Farsighted people have the opposite problem - they see far away objects clearly, but may struggle with seeing up close. Being nearsighted or farsighted can make everyday tasks harder, but there are effective treatments you can use to correct your vision.

Even if your vision problems are mild or don't cause major problems, it's best to see an eye doctor to determine why your eyesight is impaired, Kilfto says. "Blurry vision can also be an indicator of ophthalmic disease such as glaucoma or cataract."

Everyone can benefit from seeing an eye doctor. "Receiving an annual eye examination will not only reveal nearsightedness or farsightedness but will also ensure that the rest of the eye is healthy," Yuhas says.

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