ABO Ophthalmology Complete Practice Exam 2025

Convex lenses are commonly prescribed for hyperopia, also known as farsightedness. Hyperopia occurs when the eyeball is too short, or the cornea is not curved enough, causing light rays to focus behind the retina. Convex lenses, which are thicker at the center than at the edges, help to converge light rays before they enter the eye. This converging effect allows the light to focus more appropriately on the retina, thereby improving clarity for near tasks and reducing the strain that hyperopic individuals often experience when trying to focus on nearby objects.

In contrast, concave lenses are utilized for myopia (nearsightedness) as they are designed to diverge light rays, pushing the focal point further back, which is the opposite need for someone with hyperopia. Bifocal lenses, which combine two different prescriptions in one lens, are typically used for people who have both hyperopia and presbyopia, rather than solely for hyperopia. Prism lenses are primarily used to correct issues with binocular vision, such as strabismus or double vision, rather than refractive errors such as hyperopia.