Eye-sight

[Dark Angel]

What is more common - to be short-sighted or long-sighted?

[Scarlett]

This is a tricky one. I originally would have said short, as that is the most common reason for people/children to have to start wearing glasses. Having said that, as you get older, you become more long-sighted, and have to wear glasses to read things close up. And there are a lot of people who wear glasses to read!!

So.... I don't know, but how interesting!

[Dark Angel]

Scarlett, it is a tricky one, because as you grow older for reading, but in my case, as I approach my forties I seem to be becoming short sighted. I can read just fine, but distant figures are not clear to me. Sometimes I think that the person approaching me is someone known to me, and when they get closer find that it is a different person.

Thanks for your post.  

[Dark Angel]

should read,

***as you grow older you need glasses for reading.

[Scarlett]

My sister (36) is also experiencing short sight for the first time, as is her husband, so I don't think it's rare. I guess it's just that as you get older your lens either thickens or thins out, and the shape of your eyeball can grow and therefore change the point of focus. Hardly anyone has perfect eyes as they grow older- i suppose it's just one fo those things!!x

[kalise25]

Generally people are born long sighted (and struggle to focus on near targets) but have the residual ability to cope with this situation  - however, as the eye grows it naturally becomes more shortsighted (problems focussing on far targets). The "longsightedness" people get in their 40s is called presbyopia (the inability to focus on things close up) which unfortunately gets everyone in the end..but it means that shortsgighted people quite often get to dump their specs when they're older!