Do you suffer from regular or severe headaches or migraines? Migraine Awareness Week (2 – 8 September 2018) is taking place this week, highlighting how the condition impacts on one in seven people in the UK.

Migraines have a significant impact on the sufferer. In addition to a painful headache, other symptoms can include feeling sick, vomiting, sensitivity to light and disturbed vision.

Migraine sufferers can often identify triggers hours before an attack. Sometimes this is down to stress or skipping a meal due to being busy. In others, it can be certain lighting such as fluorescent strip lighting or striped patterns.

In some cases, severe headaches, not necessarily migraines, can be caused by problems with your eyes.

Regular or severe headaches could the result of strained eyesight or damage to your eye.

This is why it’s essential to have an eye examination if you are suffering from regular or severe headaches, whether migraines or not.

“Anyone who suffers from regular headaches or migraines, whether severe or not, is wise to see an optician who might be able to identify a problem with their eyesight,” said Daniel Read, practice manager at BBR Optometry, located at St Owen Street, Hereford.

“It might well be the patient needs spectacles to correct the strain on their eyesight which is causing headaches as a result. In many cases, people are straining to read, look at a computer screen or drive.

“This can cause headaches and an eye examination will pick this up, resulting in a prescription for spectacles or the use of certain tints, such as Vistamesh or ReadEZ.”

He added: “In some cases, there might be an eye injury, infection or abrasion that is causing the eye to strain. In this case, an examination will again identify the problem, allowing corrective actions.”

If you are a migraine sufferer, it would be worth consulting with an optician to see if there are triggers caused by eye conditions.

BBR Optometry has a team of professional optometrists and eye care professionals who can provide expert advice.

More details about Migraine Awareness Week and the help available for those suffering from the condition can be found at www.migrainetrust.org.