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How to Tell if a Headache Is Related to Eye Strain

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Headache and migraine sufferers often wonder whether their eyes might be the cause. There is no doubt that, with our digital dependencies, we have plenty of eye strain going around. Not only is staring at a screen all day hard on your eyes, but also reading or driving.

Eye strain can lead to a headache, though not as often as many people think. Other types of eye problems – such as dry eye, injury to the eye, degenerative eye disease, uncorrected nearsightedness and farsightedness, and eye infection – can also cause headaches.

Headaches, as a rule, are difficult to diagnose. The occasional one is nothing more pressing than what we’d deal with via a couple aspirin, but chronic episodes of headaches or migraines are cause for concern. In any case, the proximity of eyeballs to brain makes for a clear connection between headaches and eye problems. Most types of headaches – including migraines, tension, and cluster headaches – produce symptoms of eye problems. Likewise, eye strain is an identified trigger for some types of headaches.

Treatment of headaches is focused on reducing their severity and frequency. Prescription and over-the-counter medications are usually effective for treating headache pain. For people who regularly experience headaches, lifestyle modifications play an important preventative role.

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Eye Strain in the US

What Is Eye Strain?

Eye strain is the common name for asthenopia, a condition of fatigue of the eyes. Eye strain expresses itself in different symptoms, including blurry vision, pain around the eyes, double vision, and headaches. There are, after all, muscles which move the eyeball in its socket, and like any muscle, they get tired from overwork.

Eye strain is best thought of as a symptom rather than a condition, explains the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). It has different meanings for different people. Certain activities will cause eye strain in some people, while others are unaffected.

Signs and Causes of Eye Strain

The following symptoms tend to go together with eye strain. Everybody is different, of course, so not every symptom occurs for everyone, but these are the most commonly reported signs:

  • Tired eyes
  • Watery eyes
  • Blurred vision
  • Sore eyes
  • Eye itchiness
  • Tearing
  • Dry eye
  • Double vision
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Shoulder and neck pain
  • Problems with concentration
  • Burning eyes

Headaches from eye strain are also referred to as “muscle tension headaches,” presenting close to the center of the forehead and sinus area, sometimes even feeling like it’s hitting right between your eyes.

The muscles around our eyeballs, called ciliary muscles, have the function of positioning the eyeball, and get fatigued through long sessions of acute focus and repetitive movement stress. Imagine carrying a barbell around all day hefting it with one arm! That’s the equivalent of keeping our eyeballs in rigid focus while zigzagging over lines of text all day. Add to that the bright light and even heat coming off the screen.

People who work in front of a screen for extended periods of time are at risk for developing computer vision syndrome and experiencing eye strain. Likewise, reading any text, driving for hours, or any focus-based activity can strain the eyes. Essentially, any activities that require focused, up-close work can result in eye strain over time.

Can Eye Strain Cause Headaches?

Eye strain is a common condition that is one of many possible causes of headaches. Other types of eye problems can also lead to a headache.

However, the American Migraine Association (AMA) explains that eye strain is commonly overrated as a cause of headache. Eye problems can cause discomfort in the eye that reflect referred pain from a headache.

Eye problems associated with headaches include:

According to AMA, most people with headaches do not have an eye condition that causes the headaches. Most headaches are caused by another disorder, such as a migraine or tension-type headache.

Since headaches have so many causes, it is possible for headaches to be caused by any of the above eye conditions. If you suspect that to be the case, then further medical attention from an ophthalmologist is warranted.

Headaches Associated with Eye Problems

Headaches comes in different varieties, some with a known association with eye issues. We can classify headaches into different categories and their associated eye strain issues, thusly:

  • Migraine – Often accompanied by visual disturbances, migraines can cause severe light sensitivity and pain behind the eyes. They may be caused by exposure to bright lights that strain the eyes, among other factors. However, migraines can also be caused by everything from menstrual symptoms to alcohol to dehydration.
  • Cluster – This is a severe and recurring type of headache. Cluster headaches cause intense burning and piercing pain behind or around the eyes. They can also cause watery eyes, swollen eyelids, and sensitivity to light and sound.
  • Tension – One of the most common types of headaches, tension headaches can cause a feeling of pressure behind the eyes as well as sensitivity to light. Eye strain is a potential trigger of tension headaches.

As stated, headaches have multiple possible causes and sometimes occur due to a combination of causes. Headaches are like the “check engine light” of the human body, signaling some general problem without being specific as to what.

Eye issues are actually more likely to be a symptom of headaches than the other way around. The two conditions can even aggravate each other.

Headache Treatment Options

The first and most common recommendation to treat headaches is aspirin, or a non-aspirin pain reliever. Aspirin and its counterparts are general pain relievers, working equally on every part of the body.

Recently, as cannabis has become legalized in various US states, a cannabis extract has come to the fore as a new treatment option. Specifically, CBD oil, a non-psychoactive (meaning it doesn’t get you “high”) cannabis extract, has even been claimed to be more effective at treating migraines than aspirin.

Muscle relaxer medications, such as cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril), diazepam (Valium), metaxalone (Skelaxin) and methocarbamol (Robaxin), may help with migraines as well.

In addition to medications, the following natural remedies are sometimes recommended for headache relief:

  • Resting in a quiet and dark space – eyes closed, soothing music optional. Sometimes a 20 minute rest can be all you need.
  • Using an ice pack or cold, wet towel on the forehead.
  • Using a warm compress on the forehead.
  • Getting a massage, focusing on the temples, neck, and shoulders.
  • Drinking a glass of water.
  • Taking a break outdoors for some fresh air and sunshine – preferably around nature.

Each type of headache may respond differently to treatments. Effective treatment for one person may be entirely ineffective for the next ,so it is important to experiment with different treatment approaches until you are able to get relief from your headache pain.

As for the “nature cure,” there is even some scientific evidence that just being outdoors can help relieve headaches. Oxygen-rich air plus sunlight providing natural vitamin D might be all you need.

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The board-certified surgeons at NVISION have performed over 2.5 million procedures. Your journey to better vision starts here.

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Preventing Eye Strain

Regardless of whether eye strain is causing a headache, it is still at least an uncomfortable condition in its own right. There are several recommendations for preventing eye strain:

  • Reducing stress
  • Getting more sleep
  • Maintaining good posture when using screens
  • Taking a 10-minute break every half hour or so when using screens
  • Reducing screen glare by turning down screen brightness
  • Using “dark mode” interfaces on phones and computer screens
  • Using larger text fonts
  • Using sunglasses or sun shades when working or driving outdoors in the sunlight

Addressing Chronic Eye Strain & Headaches

In the case of both headaches and eye strain, there is no permanent damage suffered to the head or eyes. Instead, they are usually symptoms of other problems, some of which might be more serious than others.

If you experience consistent eye strain and headaches on a regular basis, you should focus on where and when these occur. If it’s always at work but never on the weekends, that would indicate problems with your work environment. Likewise if you always experience eye strain and headaches when on your phone, gaming on a console, or driving long distances.

To address chronic eye strain and associated headaches, you might try:

  • If you wear glasses or contacts, confirm that you have the correct gear for your prescription.
  • Use sunglasses when outdoors in bright, glaring light
  • Use eye drops if you’re experiencing eye dryness along with eye strain
  • Use a humidifier if you believe dryness is the cause of your eye strain
  • Adjust your screen usage so that you are looking slightly down at it, just below your normal line of vision
  • Wear computer glasses to prevent computer-related eye strain

Blue Light From Digital Devices

Let’s expand on that last one: “Blue light” means that the glaring light from a digital screen has a different effect from what you would experience from natural daylight. The issue is when you are focusing on this screen for 8+ hours per day. According to UC Davis, blue light from digital devices can affect your eyes, sleep, and health.

So there are specialized screen glasses available which can cut down on blue light exposure. Along with that, some modern apps and devices include a setting to reduce blue light.

This is yet another theory that’s just beginning to make the rounds out there, so it might be worth checking up to see if research is more conclusive later.

Is Your Headache Caused by Eye Strain?

If you suspect that headache-related eye strain is causing you discomfort, then try any or all of the above recommendations and see if they help. There’s really no way to be sure without experimentation.  Try changing just one thing at a time in your routine, to help you isolate the cause.

If you are still experiencing regular headaches, see your doctor if any of the following are true:

  • They’re severe and come on quickly
  • The headaches are interfering with your ability to function
  • They cause you to rely on pain relievers more than twice a week
  • The headaches don’t respond to pain medication
  • They present with other symptoms such as lightheadedness, dizziness, fever, confusion, vomiting, breathing problems, or numbness and weakness
  • They come on suddenly right after activities such as bending down, coughing or sneezing, or periods of physical exertion

There can be other triggers which a doctor can help identify. Headaches and migraines take a great deal of investigation to diagnose, so you might have to chase down several false leads before you discover the true root cause of the problem. Eye issues are just one of dozens of other conditions which can trigger headaches.

References

  1. Do I Need to Have My Eyes Checked if My Head Hurts? (February 2016). American Migraine Foundation.
  2. Headache Treatment and Headache Relief. Stanford Health Care.
  3. Abortive Migraine Medications and Treatments. Center for Headache Medicine.
  4. Types of Headaches. Stanford Health Care.
  5. Eye Strain: How to Prevent Tired Eyes. (February 2020). American Academy of Ophthalmology.
  6. When to See a Healthcare Professional. National Headache Foundation.
  7. Computer Vision Syndrome. Cedars Sinai.
  8. Webvision: The Organization of the Retina and Visual System. National Library of Medicine

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