Headache can occur on different parts of head like front portion, sideways and back. It can occur behind eyes and even on your forehead. Headache behind Eyes may occur on either one eye or both the eyes. They are known as “cluster headache” since they occur mostly in cycles repeating all the day. Headache of this type will cause shooting pain behind your eyes and radiate towards the head.
Causes :
Number of factors is involved in causing headache behind eyes. Eyes are closely connected with your head and they are located in the skull. Migraine headache begins on the eyes and spread throughout the head. Headaches related to eyes can cause partial loss of vision and can occur for days together or even months. These are called opthalmoplegic migraines which cause intense pain behind your eyes. Persons suffering from this problem may also have other symptoms like confusion, nausea, vomiting and numbness on arms and fingers.
Dryness on the eyes can cause headache behind eyes. Several types of eye infection can cause dryness which in turn induces headache. People with chronic dryness will have intense headache behind eyes. In the current lifestyle, working with computers for extended period can cause dryness and children are prone to get headaches while sitting in front of television for long duration.
Sinus Infection can cause dryness and inflammation on the eyes triggering headache. When you have Sinusitis it starts with stiffness of nose and slight temperature. As the infection intensifies it puts great pressure on the eyes causing headaches.
Emotional pressure and stressful events can trigger headaches behind eyes. Lack of sleep and overwork can cause headache. Usually these headaches are dull and chronic and will not go unless the root cause of the problem is addressed. In that case, you need to take complete rest and good sleep to reduce the dull pain and headache.
Old age can increase the vision problem like Presbyopia since the lens may lose flexibility. This can cause pain on the eyes with dull headache.
Vision problems like long sightedness and short sight can induce headache. Without using proper glasses, the person may strain his eyes for viewing the object and on this attempt the object gets focused behind retina triggering headaches. Astigmatism and hyperopia are some of the common problems with vision which causes considerable strain on the eyes and headache.
When the muscles around the eyes develop inflammation it exerts pressure on the eyes and even on the brain cavity. Hence this would certainly cause dull headaches behind eyes. In optic neuritis problems the muscles around the eyes are affected causing blurred vision and headaches. If the blood supply running to the nerves of the eye gets disrupted it causes cranial nerve palsies which causes intense pain on the eyes and repeated headaches.
Treatment :
Treatment for headache behind eyes depends on the intensity of the pain and the nature of factor that triggers it. For simple dull headaches it is enough if you do eye exercises. In case you have got headache after watching television or using computer for long hours you can try this manual therapy.
You should lie on your back and using your thumb press the basal portion of the skull by applying little pressure. You need to hold the skull for few minutes in the same position. Take a deep breath in this position which in turns improves blood circulation. This therapy gives great relief from headache caused by eye strain. Some yoga posture meant for improving blood circulation resembles the same position. Alternatively you can use acupuncture therapy for getting rid of cluster headaches.
In case you have got headache due to sinusitis you can do steam inhalation for removing the mucus inside your nose and airways which automatically relieves you from headache. Massage therapy on the salon and relaxation techniques are useful in treating headaches.
For treating eye inflammation you can take anti-inflammatory medications which reduce discomfort and pain. It would immediately relive the pressure in the eyes that causes headache. In case you have diabetes or Blood Pressure you should consult your doctor before taking any drugs.
Hence knowing the root cause that triggers headache is vital in curing the symptoms. Foods rich in nitrates like frozen foods should be avoided. Similarly you should reduce the sodium intake or salt consumption if you have Hypertension. Stop smoking and drinking alcohol which can worsen the situation increasing your headache.
Most of the headaches can be treated by massage therapy and yoga exercises. These methods would definitely relax your body and mind thereby removing the factors that really causes headache.
