Use your Migraine.com account
Log in with Facebook
Log in with Google
Log in with Yahoo!Eye exam for migraine diagnosis: an introduction
Often migraine symptoms involve vision changes, loss of vision, sensitivity to light or eye pain. Therefore it makes sense to undergo an eye exam to rule out an eye injury or other eye disorder that may be responsible. More than a century ago, migraines were thought to be caused by errors in eyesight, such as an astigmatism or eye strain. Therefore doctors at the time thought the correct eyeglasses would cure the migraines. The reasons for the vision disturbances related to migraines are still mostly unknown.
Head pain is a common reason people seek eye examinations. A 2000 study in the U.K. found that 10 percent of the men and 23 percent of the women who visited the optometrist’s office suffered from migraine.
As with all tests conducted on a migraine sufferer, an eye examination can’t diagnose a migraine. However, the eye exam can give doctors and the patient more information to determine if something else is causing the migraine symptoms.
Why get an eye exam?
An eye exam can detect:
- Glaucoma
- Cataracts
- Diabetes-related nerve damage in the eye
- Eye infections
- Blocked tear ducts
- Astigmatism
- Nearsightedness, farsightedness, color blindness or other sight issues
- Abrasions or ulcers on the cornea
- Eye injuries or damage to nerves or blood vessels
- Lazy eye (amblyopia)
What to expect during an eye exam
An eye exam may be conducted by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. An optometrist can conduct an eye exam, prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses to correct your vision, diagnose and treat most common eye disorders and some eye diseases. An ophthalmologist are medical doctors who can treat more complex eye disorders and diseases as well as perform eye surgery.
Typically the doctor will ask about your medical history and your family history. At this time, you can refer to your migraine journal which details all of the information about your migraine attacks and your migraine symptoms. Then the doctor will check your vision and also look inside your eye. You may be given eye drops that allow the doctor to better see the back of the eye. Machines with lights and magnifying devices will be used to examine different areas of the eye, although the tests are not painful. If you’re tested for glaucoma a puff of air may be directed into your eye to measure the eye pressure. Another glaucoma test uses a thin piece paper with an orange test strip on it which is touched to the side of the eye. Or you may be tested for glaucoma with a pencil-like device touching the eye after your eye has been numbed.
Written by: Otesa Miles / Reviewed by: John-Claude Krusz, PhD, MD | Last review date: November 2010. Click the References Link below for a complete list of references.
Did you enjoy this article?
Read more just like it! Subscribe to the Migraine.com weekly and receive the latest migraine news and headlines, right in your inbox.
Find the information you're looking for
There are over 1,000 articles and stories on Migraine.com - but we have the tools you need to find the information most relevant to you.Visual system dysfunction in migraine: A review of clinical and psychophysical findings; Cephalalgia; Chronicle; 1996
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003434.htm
"I had my first migraine when I was 12. I thought I was going blind, the spots in my vision all grouped together and everything went black. The pain was intense and felt like my head would crack open above my right eye." 
Do you have migraines or tension-type headaches 15 or more days a month? Get the information and tools you need.
Download the free Migraine.com app for your phone and access your journal, headlines and more.