Really?
Anahad O’Connor tackles health myths.
THE FACTS When a child complains of frequent headaches, many pediatricians order an eye exam. “In some pediatric ophthalmology practices, it’s a daily occurrence,” said Dr. Zachary Roth, a resident in ophthalmology at Albany Medical Center in New York.
Often, a child may experience headaches while reading or doing schoolwork, leading parents to think the child needs glasses. But are eye problems really a cause of childhood headaches?
In a recent study, Dr. Roth and his colleagues examined 158 children under age 18 who were referred to ophthalmologists for frequent headaches. Then, they evaluated the children’s medical records and looked at the results of earlier vision exams.
Ultimately, the researchers could not find any significant link between headaches and diagnoses of vision problems. In three-quarters of the subjects, the headaches went away over time, both in those who received new glasses and those who did not.
The study, which was presented at a recent American Academy of Ophthalmology conference, was not designed to look for causes of the headaches. But there were “quite a few” children with family histories of migraine, Dr. Roth said. Sinus problems and stress headaches also appeared to be common issues, he added.
“I think the take-away message is that it’s very unlikely for headaches to be caused by an eye problem,” he said. “The experience of all the ophthalmologists we talked to is that it almost never seems to be related to the eyes, so it’s probably more fruitful to investigate other causes.”
THE BOTTOM LINE Vision problems are often blamed for childhood headaches, but in reality, the two are rarely related.
Really?: The Claim: Eye Problems Can Cause Headaches in Children
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Really?: The Claim: Eye Problems Can Cause Headaches in Children
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Really?: The Claim: Eye Problems Can Cause Headaches in Children
