Headaches
HEADACHES AND EYES
Have you ever had to experience a headache that actually affected your vision? Even if there’s no association between headache and a vision problem, you can still experience pain around your eyes because of headaches. The debilitating effects of headaches might also indicate that you should go for an eye exam.
Let’s take a close look at vision problems that cause headaches and types of headaches which can affect your vision.
HEADACHES THAT CAUSE VISION PROBLEMS
If you suffer from any particular vision problem, it might often be accompanied by headaches. There are two types of headaches that result in vision problems:
1. Cluster Headache: These headaches cause severe pain around the eyes and occur in clusters. The pain radiates from its original locations to the eyes, neck, and shoulder. Some symptoms of cluster headaches include:
Eyelid droop
Red eyes
Changes in the size of the pupil
Nasal drainage
Tearing
An individual may experience cluster headaches for several months two to three times a day, or they can live without cluster headaches for an extended period.
2. Migraine: You can feel intense pain in or around your eyes with a migraine headache. Migraine is triggered by loud noises, bright light, smell, and certain foods. Numbness or tingling of the skin may also be the result of a migraine headache.
VISION PROBLEMS THAT CAUSE HEADACHES
Other times, headaches can result from vision problems like struggling to focus on a task, weak eyesight, or overworking the eyes. The following are some eye problems that cause headaches:
1. Eye Strain: When you work too hard on a computer for a long time, your eyes get tired from overuse. This results in a condition called eye strain that causes blurry vision and headaches. When your eyes try to focus on high pixels, the eye muscles become fatigued, resulting in headaches occurring behind or around the eyes.
2. Angle-Closure Glaucoma: This type is provoked when you go from darkness to light, such as leaving a movie theatre. Angle-closure glaucoma results in increased eye pressure that causes changes in vision, severe headaches, vomiting, eye pain, and eye redness.
3. Farsightedness: Farsightedness, also known as hypermetropia, typically causes frontal headache (brow ache). A farsighted adult finds it difficult to focus on nearby objects. As a result, they may experience headaches and eye strain. The headaches become worse when you try to concentrate harder.
4. Giant Cell Arteritis {GCA): In this condition, the arteries that run along your temple become inflamed, resulting in swelling. GCA also causes headaches that cause persistent pain in your temples. GCA also causes a complete loss of blood supply to the retina and optic nerve, resulting in total vision loss. This is considered a medical emergency that should be treated immediately.
THE BOTTOM LINE
You should go for an eye exam if you experience frequent or new-onset headaches. Existing headaches can also be triggered by eye problems, such as eye strain. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce the risk of further headaches by treating underlying eye conditions.
If you’re suffering from headaches book a consultation with us!