Headache is one of the commonest ailments with which patients come to a doctor. Headache may be a fore-runner of a variety of eye problems, and hence anyone suffering from a constant headache should consult an eye specialist.

Most people believe that eye-strain and the need for glasses are the commonest cause of headache. However, this is not true: need for glases is not the commonest cause for headache.

The diagnosis of headache can usually be established by history and examination alone - other diagnostic aids like x-ray of the skull, CAT-scan, MRI and other diagnostic tests are seldom required.

Most headaches can be divided into the following groups:

Muscle Contraction: This is by far the most frequent type of headache caused by muscle contraction. The pain is seldom felt over the contracting muscles but is usually referred to areas such as the forehead, temple, or eye-balls.

Muscle contraction headache can occur due to the daily stress of life, whether at home or work. It may also occur from sleeping or working long hours in unusual positions or prolonged close work. Mostly this headache is relieved with a pain-killer.

Headache caused by eye-strain can be confused with muscle contraction headache as it is referred to the eye-balls. Another factor that may cause confusion is the fact that such headaches are made worse by extensive use of eyes, but the headache caused by eye-strain is made worse only after use of eyes.

Migraine: One of the most painful headaches known to mankind. The prevalence of migraine increases rapidly in the first and second decade of life, and then remains steady till the fourth or fifth decade of life, and then slowly declines with age. Migraines tend to run in families. The pain tends not to be continuous but is usually severe and localized to one side of the head, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Migraine can occur due to a sudden increase or decrease in stress levels.

Diseases of the head, eyes, teeth, etc: Eye disease causing headache are infrequent and are accompanied by other visual symptoms like blurring of vision, haloes around lights, photophobia, etc. There is usually a local ocular (eye) cause responsible for the headache. Eye-strain is very rarely a cause for continuous headache unless the eyes are continuously used for prolonged periods for near work.

Witth the advent of computers and their continous use in daily work, headaches related to eye-strain are becoming more and more common. The constant glare of the monitor combined with the lack of blinking during computer work aggravates the headache.

Other diseases that can cause headache can be due to ears, teeth, jaws, tumours, etc. Your Ophthalmologist can be of help in diagnosing the cause of headache and may prescribe glasses when a need is felt for them.