By Dr. Ravindra Patil
Headache never feels good, but a headache behind the eyes can make you miserable. Eye pain and Headaches can occur together. There are many reasons for such headaches.
Please note that if you feel a headache behind your eyes, it does not mean that you have an eye problem. Remember, there is a part of the brain behind our eyes, and headache behind the eyes may be something serious like a brain tumour.
Headache on right side of head and eye and Headache on left side of head and eye may be cause of the same diseases, but on the opposite sides.
Some types of headaches are continuous for days, while others just come and go. While some times eye pain causes headache.
Also, it’s also very much possible that this type of headaches could cause vision problems too.
Headache is perhaps the commonest symptom in human beings all through out the world. But the good news is that most headaches are caused by trivial reasons and can be cured by a cup of tea or coffee or over the counter medicines. However, if a headache persists, it is time to see a specialist neurosurgeon and get yourself checked. Remember, howsoever rare it may be, there may be a possibility of a brain disease and it is very wise to get it checked, diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
Headache associated with the eyes may have many reasons. Here are some reasons you may be feeling pain behind your eyes.
Sinuses are empty spaces inside the skull bones. These cavities make the skull very light. At the same time these sinus cavities are places where infection occurs and causes a lot of pain and discomfort. Sinus headaches are diagnosed by the fact that they occur exactly at the site of the sinus, which could be in the forehead, around the eyes, in the cheeks and so on. The openings into the sinuses are blocked and so the air inside the sinuses is absorbed creating partial vacuum. The air pressure outside presses on the sinuses and causes ‘pressure pain’ because of the vacuum inside the sinus.
Pain in forehead above eyes is usually because of frontal sinusitis, meaning infection inside the frontal sinuses located in the forehead.
Triggers include sinusitis (including chronic sinusitis), colds, or allergies.
Treatment: Using a humidifier, warm compress, or breathing in warm, moist air from a vaporizer or pot of boiling water can help. the water vapour goes inside the sinuses and helps open the chocked sinus openings. Some people get relief by taking cold medications.
These is the most common type of headache, and may cause pain behind your eyes, as well as on one or both sides of your head and from your neck down to your shoulders. Mental stress, sedentary work, too much focus on any type of screen, be it a mobile phone, computer or TV, may lead to such headaches. No doubt all three, that is phones, computers and TVs are not only essential but a necessity of life. However, it is up to us to manage both, using these devices and not getting tension headaches.
Triggers for tension headaches include poor posture, lack of sleep, being hungry, being dehydrated or eye strain from staring too long at a computer screen.
Treatments: If you have an occasional tension headache, doctors may recommend an over-the-counter headache medicine, such as paracetamol or aspirin. You can also try a warm compress, a cold compress, sitting or lying down in a dark room without flickering lights or merely resting with your eyes closed. If you have these types of headaches too frequently, it is time that you consulted a specialist for investigations and treatment.
These types of headaches are known for being accompanied by both pain and visual symptoms, such as seeing a halo or flashing lights, or being extra sensitive to light. Nausea and a runny nose can also sometimes accompany the pain. There are many more symptoms of migraine headaches, like Constipation, Mood swings, Food cravings, Increased thirst and urination, Frequent yawning, Aura- symptoms of the nervous system experienced before or during the migraine and Changes in vision.
Triggers include not sleeping well, feeling stressed, bright lights, certain food and drink (such as alcohol or chocolate) or certain smells.
For treating migraines, a cup of tea or coffee is sometimes enough. Other people may need prescription medicines for the treatment of migraine.
One of the eye pain causes is Glaucoma. It is a leading cause of vision loss in people older than 60. Pressure inside the eyeball increases and damages the optic nerve. Severe, throbbing eye pain combined with headache are two common symptoms of Glaucoma. Blurry vision, eye redness, seeing halos, and nausea and vomiting may also occur. Acute Glaucoma is a medical emergency, it is best to seek urgent treatment.
If you have this kind of headache, you may feel extreme pain around your eyes (and particularly around just one eye) and your eyes may also feel watery. The name “cluster” has to do with the fact that these headaches usually show up several times for days or weeks, then disappear for a time before you have them again. Cluster headaches, which occur in cyclical patterns or cluster periods, are one of the most painful types of headache. A cluster headache commonly awakens you in the middle of the night with intense pain in or around one eye on one side of your head.
Bouts of frequent attacks, known as cluster periods, can last from weeks to months, usually followed by remission periods when the headaches stop. During remission, no headaches occur for months and sometimes even years.
Fortunately, cluster headache is rare and not life-threatening. Treatments can make cluster headache attacks shorter and less severe. In addition, medications can reduce the number of cluster headaches you have.
Triggers include smoking, alcohol, and certain medications.
Treatments are by medications like verapamil or prednisone, or injections of triptans or lidocaine nose drops. Some people find relief from breathing pure oxygen.
It is the inflammation of the optic nerve, and it can cause left eye pain and headache and right eye pain and headache. Blurred vision, dim vision, and painful eye movements also occur.
The back side of the head is called the Occipital region and pain there is called occipital neuralgia. It is a painful condition. It comes all of a sudden, lasts for a few seconds to a few minutes. It is paramount that physicians understand the differential diagnosis for this condition and specific diagnostic criteria. There are multiple treatment modalities, several of which have well-established efficacy in treating this condition.
Special medicines like NSAIDs and antidepressants may help reduce such pain. Nerve blocks can be done to alleviate pain.
Dr. Ravindra Patil Neurosurgeon at Samarth Neuro and Superspeciality Hospital has good experience in this field.
Samarth Neuro and Superspeciality Hospital has 100+ beds & specializes in emergency surgery for neurological issues/disorders & diagnostics.
Samarth Neuro and Superspeciality Hospital
