If you have been experiencing a consistent headache for long then certainly you need a close examination for your eye. You need to get your eyes, eye nerves and the optic discs checked if you experience headache or pain in the eye. The pain can be a result of increased eye pressure in the head but there can be multiple reasons for it.
The following blog explains the reasons of eye pain and the possible complications that can be resulted due to it.
Initially, most of us refer to a normal medical care in case of headache or eye pain. We prefer to visit the ophthalmologist or optometrist for seeking medical attention for the eye pain. But it’s not always that the eye pain is a result of an eye problem. Pain in the eye region can also be a result of headache which may give rise to a number of eye-related problems.
Let’s first understand what causes eye strain and then we will get into the complications that can be resulted due to it.
What is Eye Strain?
"Eyestrain" can result into eye discomfort and even headaches. Eye strain is a result of improper focusing or alignment of the eye. Headache due to eyestrain is experienced after straining eyes by working on for long periods of time on computer, reading, or doing things that need close eye attention such as sewing.
In short, doing anything using your eyes for continuous and long periods of time can certainly lead to a headache. Therefore, it becomes must to use appropriate eyeglasses to avoid the discomfort.
Eye-complications that can result into severe headache
Cornea-related problems: Cornea has a rich nerve supply and that’s what makes it sensitive. That’s why a small speck of dirt in the eye causes pain. So, anything that affects the front portion of the cornea can cause pain and redness of the eye.
Sometimes dry eyes can also result into corneal pain. So, it is must to provide proper lubrication to cornea with tears released from glands near the eye. If the lubrication is inadequate then the front part of the cornea gets directly exposed to the air which causes pain. Dry eyes often lead to redness, itchiness, burning sensations, fluctuating blurred vision.
Eye Inflammation: Inflammation inside the eyes or in the surrounding region can also lead to pain which also results into redness and swelling of the eye. This eye condition is generally examined with the help of a microscope (slit lamp). Tumors behind the eye are more painful than the ones inside the eyes. The pain is constant and leads to forward bulging of the eye. It can also lead to loss of vision or problems with peripheral vision.
Glaucoma: Although open angle glaucoma which is common is painless but an acute attack of angle closure glaucoma causes pain, blurry vision and a firm red eye. This attack may be a result of change of light conditions for example: going from dark environment to the one with excess of light- while leaving a movie theatre. This creates pressure over the eye and requires immediate attention to lower down the pressure. Mostly a laser technique is adopted to prevent future attacks.
Optic Nerve Conditions: The optic nerves are affected with the pressure variations over the brain. They can become swollen due to high pressure over the brain and also produce double vision in case of brain tumor. Pseudotumor cerebri (also called idiopathic intracranial hypertension) is a disorder that results into high pressure in the brain where there is no tumor developed. It is found in young, overweight women causing headaches inside or behind the eyes. It may also cause temporary visual loss lasting for few seconds, blurred vision, double vision or a whooshing sound in the ears. This is examined with the help of an ophthalmoscope.
Giant Cell Arteritis: This headache disorder affects people above 65 years of age leading to permanent blindness if left untreated. There is no particular reason for this but inflammation of blood vessels blocks the blood flow. Generally, the primary symptom of temporal arteritis is visual loss which is sudden and painless. Other symptoms seen are headaches, tenderness of the scalp, pain or weakness of the jaw while chewing, fever, and weight loss, loss of appetite, muscle soreness, night sweats, depression etc. and feeling poorly overall. It can be diagnosed through blood tests known as C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate and a biopsy of the artery under the skin of the temple. But once it occurs, it gets difficult to get back the normal vision.
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