Cod liver oil does not heal farsightedness, medically termed hyperopia; if it did, far fewer children who were made to swallow cod liver oil daily would have needed glasses in the first half of the 20th century. While cod liver oil does have health benefits related to the eye, it has no effect on farsightedness.
Causes
Only around 3.6 percent of people in the United States over age 20 are farsighted, according to Optical Advisor. An abnormally short eyeball or too little curve to your cornea, the dome-shaped covering found over the iris of the eye, causes farsightedness. If you're farsighted, you can see objects far away but not up close. Children are often farsighted, but their vision improves as their eyes develop.
Cod Liver Oil Ingredients
Cod liver oil contains vitamins A and D, as well as omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. All of these may have effects on eye problems, but none will change the shape of your eyeball or improve the curve of your cornea to improve farsightedness.
Night Vision
Vitamin A deficiency can affect vision. A form of vitamin A called retinol helps to form rhodopsin, a pigment found in the eye's rod cells, which can detect very low light levels. If you have low vitamin A levels, you may not see well at night. While people who are farsighted may have additional problems seeing well at night, this problem differs from vitamin A deficiency; cod liver oil will not help cure it.
Burning Eyes
People with farsightedness may experience burning in the eyes from eye strain. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oils, including cod liver oil, may improve dry eye, according to All About Vision, which may make the eyes feel better, but will not improve farsightedness.
Treatments That Work
If you're farsighted, you can change the shape of your cornea with laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis, more commonly known as LASIK surgery, which reshapes the cornea. Contact lenses and eyeglasses can also improve vision if you're farsighted.
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