Can Cataracts Cause Headaches? Understanding the Connection

Understanding Cataracts and Headaches

Cataracts are a common vision issue, especially in older adults. They occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, causing blurred vision, sensitivity to light, and other vision changes. But can cataracts also cause headaches? Here's a closer look at the connection between cataracts and headaches.

What are Cataracts?

Cataracts are a clouding of the lens in the eye, which is normally clear. The lens is located behind the colored part of the eye (iris) and helps focus light onto the back of the eye (retina) allowing clear vision. With cataracts, the proteins in the lens start to clump together causing the lens to become progressively cloudier.

There are several types of cataracts:

• Age-related cataracts - the most common type caused by aging
• Congenital cataracts - present at birth or develops in early childhood
• Secondary cataracts - caused by diseases or medications
• Traumatic cataracts - caused by an eye injury

As the clouding in the lens worsens, common cataract symptoms include:

• Blurry vision
• Double vision
• Increased sensitivity to glare and light
• Halo effect around lights
• Impaired night vision
• Fading or yellowing of colors
• Increase in nearsightedness
• Impaired depth perception

What Causes Headaches?

Headaches arise from irritation or swelling of pain-sensitive structures in the head. Some common headache triggers include:

• Stress and anxiety
• Hormonal changes
• Dehydration and hunger
• Medications
• Sleep issues
• Alcohol use
• Eye strain

Eye strain in particular can commonly lead to headaches. Using the eyes excessively to focus on close objects for a prolonged time can cause the eye muscles to spasm and compress nerves surrounding the skull, resulting in headache pain.

Can Cataracts Directly Cause Headaches?

Cataracts themselves do not directly cause headache pain. However, the visual changes caused by cataracts can trigger headaches in some people due to eye strain.

As cataracts worsen, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, and impaired depth perception forces the eyes and brain to work harder to see clearly. This overexertion strains the eyes and can compress nerves around bony areas around the skull, causing headache pain.

Headache Locations with Eye Strain

Eye strain induced headaches tend to occur in the following locations:

• Forehead - This is the most common location for eye strain headaches due to compression of nerves that run close to the surface along the brow bone.
• Behind the eyes - Eye muscle tension can irritate nerves located behind and around the eyes.
• Back of the head - Eye strain can trigger neck and shoulder tension, causing referred pain to the back of the head.

Other Cataract-Related Causes of Headaches

While cataracts themselves do not directly initiate headaches, related symptoms and treatments can contribute to headache pain.

Sensory Changes

Vision changes caused by cataracts can make existing headaches worse or trigger new ones, including:

• Light sensitivity - Photophobia or excessive sensitivity to light is common with cataracts. Exposure to normal indoor and outdoor light can strain the eyes and generate headaches.
• Glare problems - Difficulty with glare due to cataracts requires increased squinting and eyestrain. This can lead to headache pain around the eyes or temple regions.
• Poor depth perception - Impaired judgement of distances puts greater demand on the visual system. The eyes tire from overwork, resulting in strain and headaches.

Needing Updated Eyeglass Prescriptions

As the cataract lens cloudiness increases, it often changes the eyeglass prescription needed for clear vision. Using an outdated glasses prescription strains the eyes and commonly causes headaches.

Anxiety and Stress

For some, worsening vision from cataracts provokes anxiety about worsening eyesight, driving ability, or falling. The resulting stress and worry can trigger headache pain.

When to See Your Doctor

In most cases, cataract-related headaches are not a major concern. But recurrent moderate to severe head pain or other unusual symptoms should prompt medical evaluation. See an eye doctor promptly if you have:

• Sudden severe headache pain
• Headaches getting progressively worse
• Headaches waking you at night
• Other new neurological symptoms like weakness or speech issues
• Recent head injury
• Eye pain especially with headache
• Nausea and vomiting with headaches

Rarely, headaches paired with eye issues like blurred vision can indicate a more serious condition requiring urgent evaluation.

Treating Cataract Headaches

If cataracts are contributing to recurrent headaches, both eyestrain and head pain issues should be addressed. Often a multi-pronged approach works best.

Update Eyeglasses

Having an accurate, up-to-date eyeglass prescription is crucial. New lenses matched to current vision needs allow clear sight with less eyestrain. For moderate to advanced cataracts, contacting your eye doctor every 6 to 12 months to check if your prescription needs adjustment is recommended.

Prevent Eye Strain

Practice good eye strain prevention habits:

• Take regular screen breaks when using digital devices or reading
• Ensure adequate lighting for close tasks
• Avoid overhead lighting or lamps causing glare
• Increase text size on phones and tablets
• Keep reference materials at eye level
• Invest in anti-glare computer glasses if needed

Treat Headaches

Utilize acute headache remedies when eye strain triggers head pain:

• Over-the-counter pain medicine like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil)
• Cold therapy such as ice packs
• Dim lights and rest eyes
• Massage head, neck and shoulder muscles
• Stay well hydrated

For those with frequent head pain, preventative daily medications may be recommended by your doctor.

Consider Cataract Surgery

If cataracts progress enough to make everyday tasks difficult and contribute to recurrent eye strain headaches, cataract surgery may be warranted. This common outpatient procedure removes the cloudy natural lens and inserts an artificial lens implant.

Cataract surgery has been proven extremely effective at restoring clear vision and significantly improving related symptoms like light sensitivity, hazy sight, double vision, poor night vision, and nearsightedness. Eliminating these visual disturbances can provide great relief from eyestrain headaches.

The Bottom Line

Cataracts themselves do not directly cause headaches. But worsening cataract symptoms like blurry vision, light sensitivity, and glare problems can strain the eyes

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.