Eyes age as we do. They develop vision-related problems that we may not notice. If you suffer from regular headaches and eye strain, please consider an eye and vision exam.

Common eye strain is generally caused when tiny muscles in the eyes are working harder than they should be because of a visual defect, which can cause headaches. While there’s a myriad of eye and vision-related disorders, those most commonly associated with headaches include:

• Astigmatism – irregularly shaped cornea, people often squint to focus which leads them to experience head pain. Light entering your eye is not focused on a single point on the retina, so objects both near and far become blurred or distorted producing an effect similar to looking through a pane of wavy glass.  Treatment is either contact lenses or replacement prescription eyeglass lenses in your eyeglasses.

• Cataracts – clouding of the lenses seen mostly in older people that blurs the vision causing the eyes to work harder and cause headaches. This can be treated by removal of the cataractous lens and replacement by an artificial intraocular lens.

• Excessive Watering - Excessive watering in the eyes can occur due to lots of conditions including allergic and other forms of conjunctivitis, corneal diseases (keratitis) foreign body in the eye, and due to blockage of the tear drainage system.

• Eye Pain - Eye pain can occur in eye conditions like conjunctivitis (pink eye), injury to any part of your eye and inflammatory conditions like Uveitis, Scleritis, and Keratitis. Pain is also experienced in some forms of Glaucoma. Migraine headaches can also result in eye pain.

• Eye Twitching - although alarming to the patient, is not a symptom to be frightened of. It is usually related to stress, poor sleep, excessive caffeine in the diet and poor hydration.

• Glaucoma – this incurable and treatable condition has an unknown origin and causes pressure build-up that is relates to headaches and eye pain.

• Hyperopia – farsightedness, an inability to see objects closeup while far away objects appear in focus. The reason many people get reading glasses at the pharmacy to avoid the issue causing headaches and eye strain. As is the case with problems like being farsighted, getting over-the-counter, non-prescription eye wear can be like putting a band aid on a large gash as a temporary fix. In the case of covering a wound, at least it should eventually heal, but eye conditions are likely to worsen as time goes on. We suggest you get the proper prescription in the frames you use as your readers. Both of your eyes are different and you can be straining your eyes even more using a one-size-does not-fit-all reader.

• Myopia -nearsightedness or blurred vision at a distance. You may have very good close vision. Myopia occurs if your eyeball is too long or the cornea (the clear front cover of the eye) is too curved. As a result, the light entering your eye isn't focused correctly, and distant objects look blurred.  Even though the tendency to develop myopia may be inherited, its actual development may be affected by how a person uses his or her eyes. Individuals who spend considerable time reading, working at a computer, or doing other intense close visual work may be more likely to develop myopia.  Symptoms of myopia may also be a sign of variations in blood sugar levels in people with diabetes or may be an early indication of a developing cataract.

• Night Blindness - Night blindness is the most important ocular complaint in Vitamin A deficiency and a retinal condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa.

• Presbyopia – with age, the lens can harden, become less flexible and decrease focus on objects up close causing eye soreness and frequent headaches.

It is important that anyone with defective vision undergo a detailed eye examination including eye pressure check and retinal examination to find the cause and take necessary steps. Undergoing only a test of glasses is inadequate and  may miss out on sight-threatening conditions like glaucoma.