It’s common to experience headaches once in a while. However, it’s a totally different case altogether if your headaches affect your vision and vice versa. In today’s post, your trusted eye doctor, Dr. Joel McGahen, shares with you the connection between vision and headaches.
Headaches That Can Affect Your Vision
At times, a headache can cause pain around your eyes and could be a sign that your eyes are changing. Here are some headache conditions that may affect your vision.
- Migraine. A migraine is a sensation wherein there’s intense pain inside and around your eyes. At times, you’ll experience nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light. You’ll also feel a migraine “aura” where you’ll see figures that appear like shimmering lights, a zigzag pattern, or a rainbow of lights. You’ll also feel a pounding sensation in your head as if it’s repetitively pulsing.
- Cluster Headaches. These are severe headaches that can be felt in clusters that cause pain around your eyes. At times, it spreads down the neck and affects your shoulders. Other symptoms include drooping eyes, change in pupil size, eye redness, tearing, and nasal drainage.
Vision Problems That Cause Headaches
On the other hand, there are headaches that are triggered by vision problems. Most of these stem from overworking your eyes or difficulty in focusing. By addressing the vision problem, the headache often goes away.
- Eye Strain. Overusing your eye muscles can lead to eye strain and headaches. This is especially prevalent in our world now that we’re all surrounded by gadgets. Using your phone and browsing the Internet for hours on end can cause eyestrain. It makes it difficult for your brain to focus on text especially because images and words are made out of pixels. Your eyes have to work harder to focus on these pixels which can wear down your eyes and leave you fatigued, or with a headache.
- Farsightedness. Both children and adults with uncorrected farsightedness or hypermetropia will most likely experience a headache along the eyebrow area. When you are farsighted, it becomes difficult for you to look at nearby objects, which causes eye strain and headaches. This can be treated with corrective eyeglasses that will help you see normally and alleviate your headaches.
- Presbyopia. Once people hit 40, they might find it difficult to focus on nearby objects, or tasks that require visual focus. Tasks such as knitting or reading become difficult to perform because of blurring. Headaches will soon develop due to strain on your eyes, exerting effort on focusing your eyes on the task at hand. Headaches can be remedied by the use of reading glasses. An individual may be at higher risk of developing presbyopia earlier if they are always exposed to the sun, or have an occupation that requires visual focus such as a watchmaker, or being farsighted.
Do you need to consult an optometrist that you can trust? Trust in the vision services of Dr. Joel McGahen! We’re your one-stop-shop for all vision and eyewear needs. We have been in the optometry business for over 30 years providing our patients with vision solutions, quality eyewear and excellent eye care. Call us at (717) 264-4012 or schedule an appointment via this link! We serve customers in the Chambersburg area and the rest of PA!