Eye pain and burning

Hi everyone,
For those of you that get migraines or any type of headache...does your eye ache, hurt, burn, have pressure? My temple pain is ok right now, but my eye is really bad today, as well as the top of my eye socket by my eye brow...sound familiar? Any ideas what to do? Thank you in advance...oh I'm trying acupuncture on Monday, please wish me luck

Mala

Hi Mala!

Quick comment coming. From what you posted it SOUNDS like there's probably not a whole lot to worry about. But that's hard to gauge. I have NDPS and very often have sore or even sometimes quite painful feelings around/behind/"in" my eyes and really most headache sufferers suffer from similar symptoms. In most cases they are a secondary symptom, a thing caused by the headache strain, not actually causing the headache or even directly linked.

HOWEVER, especially because you were somewhat vague on how bad the pain really is in your eyes (and I know it can be hard to quantify), it could be a potential cause for concern. One important question that I would like to ask is whether you experience any visual distortions, including but not limited to aura. Also, how would you describe the pain? Stabbing, burning, aching, heavy pressure, etc. ?

Again, I imagine that it's very likely that your eye pain is simply just caused by the stain of migraines. But let me give you a quick idea of some other things it could be associated with. Please remember that I have limited or no medical training and this is pure speculation, so please don't get worried that it could be something bad!

1) Cluster headache. You didn't describe what your headaches are like but if you experience cluster headaches then that would like explain the eye problems. If you need info about cluster headaches just check out this link to see if it may be what you're experiencing: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cluster-headache/DS00487 . To quote another article "the pain is lancinating or boring in quality, and is located behind the eye (periorbital) or in the temple, sometimes radiating to the neck or shoulder."

2) Ocular problems. Hopefully you've have a fully neurological exam which has included close examination of the optical nerve but using a scope close to the eye. It's important to rule that out. Also, consider getting an eye exam, whether you need glasses or not as optometrists frequently can more closely see if there are any problems in that area. One important thing that he or she may do is called something like a field of vision test. Essentially it's a comprehensive evaluation of your peripheral vision that can be very helpful.

3) Last, and almost certainly least likely is Idiopathic intracranial hypertension. This is almost always associated with visual distortions, problems in what you actually see, not what your eyes feel like. The typical way to check for this condition is lumbar puncture (a.k.a. spinal tap). It can be very serious but again it is quite unlikely. For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiopathic_intracranial_hypertension

One last thing, and I can't stress this enough: I have no sound reason to think that you might be suffering from any of these ailments. I very strongly encourage you to ONLY use this information to simply ask your neurologist whether he or she thinks that there is any reason to suspect the things that I've mentioned. I'm sure that things will work out and best of luck!

Ben

I just found this forum this morning - and regarding the stabbing pain on the upper right side of the head - I am SO relieved to hear some of you folks describe it exactly the way I described it to my husband and dr's office!  "Like an ice pick stabbing my brain" - "brings me to my knees" - I couldn't get into dr for about 2 more weeks, but I now feel like that's soon enough unless it gets worse.  I've had these pains occasionally off & on for a few months, but it has become more frequent the last few weeks, and woke me from sleep last nite.  That's when I decided it was time to call the dr.  I have had Menieres for over 10 years, and have had vascular headaches occasionally - but if I get to them quickly enough, plain old advil will usually nip 'em before they get full-blown.  This pain is totally different and does not fall into the headache category. I hope those of you who are in pain can get the necessary treatments and have a healthy, pain-free New Year!

(BTW - I'm 50, female, 2 kids)