Having Headache From Contacts? Here’s What You Should Know

While there are several causes for persistent headaches that can range from dehydration to much more serious health conditions, one of the most common causes tends to be vision issues.

Digital screens and wrong prescriptions can sometimes be the cause of headaches but have you ever considered the contacts that you wear may be the culprit? It’s important to consult with your eye doctor and physician to help rule out more serious underlying causes of your headaches first.

However, if you’ve just switched to contacts or started wearing them more frequently and have been experiencing headaches out of the norm, the culprit may be clear.

Vision-related headache from contacts are most often due to one of the following causes:

Wrong prescription

If you’re like me then you probably worry about answering the wrong choice (is option 1 better, or 2?) when your eye doctor tests your vision for a new prescription. Well sometimes mistakes happen on both ends and you end up getting fit for a prescription that is either too strong or weak.

Trying to see through a wrong prescription puts a lot of stress on your eyes that can often cause headaches. Even a slight variance of prescription can lead to strain and headaches.

Poorly fitting lenses

Not all contact lenses are created equal and each person will react differently to them depending on the natural workings of the eye. Throughout the day, a poorly fitting contact can dry out, shrink and become rigid. Or the contacts may not sit well on the eye that can lead to shifts that will distort the vision.

Dry eyes

Dry eyes can stem from a variety of causes that ranges from tear gland issues to allergies. Wearing contacts that are prone to drying out your eyes can compound other issues. When your eyes become dry, your vision is compromised due to the lack of a smooth, clear surface for the light to pass through upon entering the eye.

Dry eyes also are more sensitive to light, which as a result will cause you to squint. Squinting can lead to muscle tension headaches.

Astigmatism

The shape of a normal eye will be smooth and even, allowing light to focus clearly and properly on the retina at the back of the eye. When you have an astigmatism, it means that the shape of your cornea is not equal, which distorts your vision.

Toric contact lenses help astigmatisms by correcting for the irregular shape of the cornea. In order for the toric contact lenses to remain in the proper position, a small weight is used inside to keep alignment, which allows for clear vision. However, these contacts can shift easily due to the weight and cause blurry vision.

If these shifts happen frequently or the wearer is sensitive to blurry vision, headaches can easily occur. Glasses are much more effective at correcting astigmatisms and eliminating headaches.

Presbyopia

This condition is characterized by the inability of the eyes to focus on objects at a close distance. We naturally lose this ability over time as we age due to the nature of our lens (contracts and expands naturally to help focus close or far images) that becomes rigid and inflexible.

If you have worn contacts for many years, you may begin to experience headaches if you start to develop presbyopia (typically seen in 30+ year olds). Reading glasses are likely to be a solution for headaches caused by presbyopia.

One way to eliminate headaches caused by contacts is by choosing to correct your vision through laser eye surgery permanently. At Diamond Vision, we are extremely proud to offer our patients the very latest procedures in vision correction to help them regain their quality of life that was once hindered by the inconvenience of glasses and/or contacts.

If you suffer from vision-related headaches, you owe it to yourself to hear how our award-winning staff can help you. Call today for a free consultation at (888)678-4341.

Our clinics are located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Georgia. Contact our Atlanta Eye Treatment Center if you have headaches from contacts.