Eye problems were earlier seen a lot in the old aged people, but now even tiny little children are having them. You can see little school-going children wearing such thick glasses. Not only refractive errors, but there are many other problems too seen in the young age groups, such as cataracts, astigmatism, amblyopia, and more. And, do you know that such eye problems can lead to another big problem – a headache? A headache is associated with reduction of vision either for far or near distance, due to the inability to focus rays of light on the retina of the eye. As eye specialists, we would like to let you know how eye problems can be related to headaches.
Presbyopia – Farsightedness
People aged 40 or more generally experience headaches while working with near things, such as reading, stitching, and sewing. This is because they try to focus an image on the retina, while they are suffering from presbyopia, a condition that has the patient gradually losing the ability to see things clearly up close. Such a condition can be treated using bifocal glasses, which have to be used only during near work.
Myopia – Nearsightedness
Myopia is when the light focuses short of the retina, causing blurry distance vision. Headache can be caused by the eyestrain created by blurred vision, and the squinting that a myopia patient typically does to attempt to see more clearly. Besides squinting, myopia patients may always tend to sit closer to television screens so that they can see images on the screen more clearly, being another good cause of headaches. This condition can be corrected by using prescribed glasses or contact lenses, which may be used only while driving, watching television, or other such far vision tasks. In addition, once the myopia is seen to be stable for an year or two, and if you are 18 years of age or more, you can also opt to undergo LASIK at Arohi Eye Hospital, the best eye hospital in Mumbai for permanent correction of your eyesight.
Convergence insufficiency – Weakness of the eye muscles
Convergence insufficiency is the condition that is caused due to the weakness of the extraocular muscles of the eye. This condition, if causes headache, is generally in the front part of the head, especially during continued near work. The condition can be managed by exercising the eye muscles with a pen exercise done at home or an orthoptic clinic.
Glaucoma – Optic nerve damage
When pressure builds up in the eye, it damages the optic nerve that sends images to the brain, leading to a condition known as glaucoma. Acute headache can be experienced in this condition, especially in low light conditions die to an increase in intraocular pressure. This condition is considered an emergency because if the pressure within the eye goes too high, it may compress the optic nerve, leading to permanent vision loss! Thus, immediate diagnosis and treatment is required at the best eye hospital in Mumbai if you feel that you are having blurred vision and acute headache.
Dr. Shradha Goel
Dr. Shradha Goel, Chief Surgeon at Arohi Eye Hospital, is a renowned Phaco-LASIK surgeon with over 10,000 surgeries to her credit. She earned her MBBS from Grant Medical College, Mumbai, and a Master’s in Ophthalmology from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. As a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Dr. Goel specialises in LASIK, refractive errors, and cataract treatments.