Can eye pain cause headaches?
Disease description:
Recently, my eyes have been severely swollen and painful. These past two days, my head has also started to ache. Could the headache be caused by the eye pain? Are the two actually related?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Wang Shuai
In general, eye pain may lead to headaches. If symptoms persist or worsen, prompt medical attention is necessary to avoid delayed treatment.
Eye problems such as prolonged eye use, glaucoma, refractive errors, and eye inflammation may trigger headaches. When the eyes become overly fatigued, tension in the eye muscles can cause head pain through nerve reflexes. In patients with glaucoma, increased intraocular pressure can compress the eyeball and surrounding tissues, causing eye pain that may radiate to the head and result in headaches. Vision problems such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism, if not properly corrected, can also lead to eye fatigue and subsequently headaches, especially with prolonged eye use.
However, headaches may also be caused by other factors such as neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases, or psychological factors. If symptoms of eye pain accompanied by headaches occur, timely medical consultation and thorough examination are necessary to determine the underlying cause and implement appropriate treatment.
In daily life, maintaining good eye habits and undergoing regular eye examinations can also help prevent ocular headaches.
