Calizar, Marionne May P.

July 10, 2018

OD4A Dr. Maricar Aguinaldo-Garcia

Opto Prac

TYPES OF OCULAR AND NON-OCULAR HEADACHE

Ocular Headache
o Eyestrain Eye strain occurs when your eyes get tired from
intense use, such as driving a car for extended
periods, reading, or working at the computer. If
you have any eye discomfort caused by looking at
something for a long time, you can call it eye
strain.

o Ocular Migraine Involves a widening blurry spot in your vision,

 Painless Ocular Migraine surrounded by bright, flickering lights. Visual
disruptions could be the only symptoms, but
sometimes they are accompanied by problems
with other senses, speech, or motor skills

Same visual disruptions can accompany a

 Migraine With Aura
migraine headache, usually between the
premonitory and peak pain phases of the
migraine. This occurs in roughly 20 percent of
individuals who suffer from migraines. Migraine
auras usually are visual in nature, but they can
include disturbances of hearing, speech or smell;
progressive numbness or tingling in the face or
arms or legs; or generalized weakness.

A person who has experienced other migraine

 Retinal Migraine symptoms could experience repeated, temporary
bouts of diminished vision or blindness in one eye

Treatment and Prevention If you are driving or performing other tasks

that require good vision when an ocular migraine
occurs, stop what you are doing and relax until
your vision returns to normal.

Also, you should consider having a

comprehensive eye exam with an optometrist or
ophthalmologist whenever you experience
unusual vision symptoms to rule out sight-
 threatening conditions such as a detached retina,
which requires immediate attention.

If your ocular migraines or migraine headaches

appear to be stress-related, you might be able to
reduce the frequency of your migraine attacks
without medicine by simply:

 Eating healthful meals on a regular basis

 Avoiding common migraine triggers
 Getting plenty of sleep
 Trying stress-busters such as yoga and
massage.

Non-ocular Headache
o Tension Headache Tension headaches account for 90% of all
headaches and usually begin in early adulthood
or later. Chronic daily stress is the most common
trigger for most types of headaches. It can result
when the head, neck, or face muscles contract
but do not relax. The headaches are located
around the sides of the head and the back of the
neck. They may last for hours sometimes days,
and are usually mildly to moderately painful.

o Migraine Headache The headache is usually on one side of the

head and is often described as 'throbbing' or
'pulsating'. Typically, it gradually gets worse and
peaks after 2-12 hours, and then gradually eases
off. Other common symptoms include: feeling
sick (nausea), vomiting, discomfort with bright
lights or loud noises, and wanting to lie in a dark
room.

o Sinus Headache The main causes of sinus

headaches are allergies and sinus infections. The
headache is associated with facial tenderness,
pain, and pressure around the forehead, cheeks,
or eyes. The upper teeth may ache. The pain
worsens if the patient bends over or lies down, or
if exposed to sudden cold air.

o Intracranial Headache Headaches can be caused by

raised pressure of fluid circulating in and
around the brain. This may either occur
spontaneously or due to brain tumours.
The eye specialist is often the first person
 to detect this since it presents with swelling
of both optic nerves detected when the inside of
the eye is examined
by an ophthalmoscope. Other causes of
headache may be bleeding
inside the head following head injury or rupture
of an aneurysm
(abnormally distended blood vessel).

o Hypertension Headache (high blood Associated with early

pressure) morning or waking headache. Evidence has
shown some relation to
sleep disordered breathing.
Treatment and Prevention Painkillers and anti-nausea medications work
well in most cases if they are taken at the very
beginning of the episode as soon as symptoms
begin. Other specific medicines are prescribed to
prevent or abort the headache.

In sinus headache, steam inhalation can help

soothe it. Painkillers such as Aspirin, and
Ibuprofen, also help. Severe sinusitis needs
evaluation by an ENT specialist.

References:

http://www.rajaneyecare.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/MANUAL-BOOK-SET-11.pdf

http://visionsource.com/blog/ocular-migraines/