One of the most common symptoms that many people face is a headache. Even if you think you can treat a headache on your own without seeking medical attention, you should be concerned if the headache is accompanied by symptoms like blurred vision, slurred speech, weakness, numbness, or seizures. Genes can play a role in headaches, especially migraines.

Headaches can also affect the eyes and vice versa. That much is true. When you have a headache, the area around your eyes can occasionally hurt. Here are a few types of headache that are linked to the eyes.

1. Eye strain headaches are triggered by poor posture, lack of sleep, being hungry or dehydrated or when your eye muscles contract too much when working for prolonged periods at near work. It will cause pain and discomfort behind your eyes, on one or both sides of your head, and from your neck down to your shoulders.
2. Ocular migraines cause visual disturbances with or without headache. The cause is unknown, but genetics can be a contributing factor. People with ocular migraine may experience symptoms like seeing flashing lights, blind spots in the field of vision, severe eye pain, and headaches.
3. Uncorrected refractive errors such as short-sightedness (myopia), long-sightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism, and presbyopia also interfere with proper vision and may cause squinting to help the eyes focus. If left untreated, it may also cause headaches.
4. A sinus headache can develop due to a sinus infection. Many people don’t realise that having sinusitis means not only feeling pressure around the nose area. Actually, the sinus pressure also occurs around the eyes, cheeks, and mouth, which gives the same feeling as a headache.
5. Headaches due to glaucoma most commonly occur around the eye or forehead. Glaucoma is divided into two types, which are primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and acute angle closure glaucoma (AACG). One of the symptoms of AACG is headache.
6. Ocular Ischemic syndrome develops due to a chronic lack of blood flow to the eye. People having this problem might have symptoms like headaches and a decrease in vision.

Home remedies for relieving headache symptoms:

• Taking over-the-counter painkillers is able to relieve mild to moderate headaches. If you have a severe headache, do see a doctor immediately
• Resting in a dark room
• Apply cold compress to the back of the neck, the forehead or the eyes
• Follow the 20:20:20 rule to relieve eye strain due to long-term near-work
• Sitting with good posture
• Drink more plain water

Despite the fact that headaches are relatively common, they should not be taken lightly as daily activities can be interrupted. To rule out any eye disorders, do see an ophthalmologist. The sooner you receive a diagnosis, the sooner you can start receiving treatment to relieve your symptoms.