Headache

Recently a report stated that there has been a drastic increase in the number of headache patients in the country. The first step in identifying the reason for headaches is to visit your family doctor. Your doctor will ask questions about the timing, frequency, duration and concurrent symptoms of the headaches, as well as what activities you are doing before and while they occur. The answers to these questions may still not reveal the cause of headaches for even for the most observant patient.

Main causes for eyestrain and associated headache are:

  • Astigmatism – the cornea is not a regular shape, which means that objects look blurry from certain angles. A person with astigmatism tends to squint in order to better focus their vision, which can contribute to headache.
  • Presbyopia – the lens becomes hard and inflexible with age. The symptoms include difficulties in focusing closely, sore eyes, sluggish changes in focus when looking from one distance to another, and headache.
  • Hyperopia – or long-sightedness. Instead of focusing the image squarely on the retina at the back of the eye, the image is focused to a point behind the eye.

It’s a good idea to see your eye doctor immediately if you start having headaches — especially if your headaches occur shortly after being fitted with contact lenses or changing contact lens brands.