Do dry eyes cause headaches?

Do dry eyes cause headaches?

Dry eyes have various symptoms beyond your eyes feeling dry, so it’s important to recognise all of the possible symptoms to be able to effectively treat the condition. Dry eyes are also related to medical conditions and hormonal changes, so it’s useful to recognise symptoms of dry eyes and other symptoms of your condition or hormone change to know how best to treat the symptoms. For example, the menopause may cause dry eyes and headaches, but treating dry eyes won’t necessarily get rid of your headache.

Let’s look at what can cause dry eyes and what the symptoms are, so you’re best equipped to treat your symptoms.

What causes dry eyes?

Dry eyes can have many causes, from age, sex, hormonal changes and medical conditions to medicines, environmental factors and lifestyles. So it can be tricky to determine the exact cause of your dry eyes, and you may have to treat the symptoms of your dry eyes to prevent further eye health problems before you can treat the underlying problem that’s causing your eyes to be dry.

Common environmental factors causing dry eyes include:

• Being in a smoky room.
• Being in an air-conditioned room.
• Being on an aeroplane.
• Cycling without glasses.
• Being outside in cold, dry, windy conditions.
• Looking at a computer screen for extended periods.
• Looking at a computer screen at close range.

If an environmental factor is causing your eyes to dry, they should feel better once you change your environment. However, if your job involves working from a laptop, it can be hard to look away from your computer long enough to improve your eye health, or if you’re an air steward, it’s hard to be away from aeroplane air-conditioning for long.

It’s best to treat a condition naturally, such as by not smoking indoors, drinking more water or wearing wrap-around sunglasses when cycling. However, if your symptoms last for more than a few days, you can develop more serious problems with your eyes, so it’s best to see an eye specialist to treat the symptoms or see if there’s a more serious health condition that’s causing you to have dry eyes.

Conditions that may cause dry eyes

Various conditions can cause dry eyes, so if you’ve changed your environment and some habits, or you’re under 50 and not going through any significant hormonal changes, you should consider that any medication you’re taking or possibly an undiagnosed condition may be the cause.

Some conditions that can cause dry eyes include:

• Vitamin A deficiency.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• A chalazion is blocking your tear duct.
• Thyroid disorders.
• Lupus.
• Keratitis.

If you have any of these conditions, you should seek help from an eye specialist for your dry eyes. However, if you have not been diagnosed with any other condition, see your GP to ensure you don’t have an undiagnosed health issue.

What are the symptoms of dry eyes?

Common symptoms of dry eyes include:

• A stinging, burning or itchy feeling in your eyes.
• Eye redness.
• Feeling like there’s something in your eyes.
• Stringy mucus in your eyes.
• Sensitivity to light.
• Difficulty with nighttime driving.
• Tired eyes.
• Difficulty wearing contact lenses.
• Watery eyes.
• Blurred vision.

Some people who have dry eyes also experience headaches, but it’s not a common symptom, although there may be some correlation.

Do dry eyes cause headaches?

If you have dry eyes and headaches, you’re not alone. But while there seems to be a correlation between dry eyes and headaches, it’s not completely clear if one is caused by the other or if they’re symptoms of the same condition.

People with migraines often experience dry eyes when they’re having migraines, and there is a link between migraines and vision issues, so it’s possible that migraines can cause dry eyes, although this has yet to be proven conclusively, as it may be the case that dry eyes can trigger migraines.

What’s more, headaches are a common symptom of hormonal changes as well as a side effect of certain medications, so if your dry eyes are caused by menstruation, pregnancy or the use of antihistamines or birth control, it’s highly likely that this will also cause your headache.

If you have dry eyes and headaches, you can keep a diary to note when in your menstrual cycle the symptoms appear to see if the issues are hormonal. Otherwise, you should visit your GP to help relieve the pain from your headache and your dry eyes.

What to do if you have prolonged dry eyes

Symptoms of dry eyes can last as little as a few hours to as long as decades, but if they go untreated for a long period of time, they can risk further damage to your eyes.

If you’ve recently been in an aeroplane or outside in biting winds, it’s likely that your symptoms of dry eyes will subside in less than 24 hours, and you don’t need to do anything to help them. However, if you’ve recently been ill, you can make sure you drink plenty of fluids and eat a healthy, balanced diet to re-moisturise your eyes if they are dry due to dehydration or a lack of vitamin A.

For prolonged dry eyes, i.e. symptoms of dry eyes that last more than a few days, and don’t improve after increasing water intake or vitamin A in your diet, you should see your GP or an eye specialist to find the cause of your dry eyes to treat them effectively.

Treating dry eyes

As dry eyes can be caused by more serious health conditions, you should seek the cause of your dry eyes to treat the condition and relieve symptoms. However, finding and treating the cause can take a long time, in which time your dry eyes will become increasingly uncomfortable and more susceptible to infections like blepharitis and conjunctivitis. So if you have prolonged dry eyes, you should also seek to treat the symptoms.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for dry eyes that aren’t caused by another condition, so you should investigate treatment options for your dry eyes. While it’s unlikely that your dry eyes will lead to blindness, they can still cause health problems and affect your quality of life, so treating them is essential.

The best treatment for dry eyes is eye drops, known as artificial tears, which can be bought without a prescription from most pharmacies. However, if you don’t see an eye specialist to find the cause of your dry eyes, you may have to try several types of eye drops before finding the one that works best for you.

How to use eye drops

To use eye drops, begin by thoroughly washing your hands to prevent infecting your eyes with any bacteria or harmful microbes. Tilt your head backwards and look up at the ceiling, gently pulling down the lower eyelid to create a small pocket. Hold the eye drop bottle with the other hand, and make sure not to touch your eye with the nib of the bottle.

Squeeze the recommended number of drops into the lower eyelid pocket and close your eyes for a moment to allow the medication to spread evenly, pressing gently on the tear duct to prevent the eye drop from being drained before it has sufficiently covered the surface of your eyeball. If using multiple eye drops, wait at least 5 minutes before applying the next one. Recap the bottle tightly, and try to avoid blinking excessively immediately after application to ensure optimal absorption.

Experiencing dry eyes? Contact the Eye and Dental Clinic

If you have dry eyes, you should book an appointment with an eye specialist as soon as possible to relieve your symptoms and improve your quality of life. The Eye and Dental Clinic have an expert team with a wealth of experience in eye conditions; contact us today to book your appointment, or read our latest news to learn more about what we can do for you.

Back to Blog