What is eye pain?

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor Vu Dung Kien - Department of General Internal Medicine - Vinmec Times City International Hospital.

Doctors often encounter a lot of complaints from patients about headaches accompanied by eye pain. So what is the cause of this disease, how can it be eliminated, please read along to find out in the article below.

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) (1986) defines pain as: “Pain is an unpleasant sensation and emotional experience, occurring concurrently with actual or potential harm. properties of tissues, or described in such a way”. Pain is a combination of factors:
Physiological: pain is a conscious subjective feeling Psychological: pain is an experience assessed by consciousness Pathological: pain is associated with injury, confusion dysfunction. Headache is defined as pain in the head, neck-neck, face-eye sockets. Pain can be unilateral or bilateral, fixed or diffuse, varying by intensity (mild-moderate-severe), pain nature (electrical throbbing, constricting, dull, intense, pulse-like pain) beating ...), course (crushing, continuous, worsening..), onset (sudden, gradual) and accompanying symptoms (motor, balance, vision, hearing .. .).
Most people experience several headaches in their life, headaches occur at any age, and are the most common.
In Vietnam, a random survey of over 2000 adults (in 2008) showed that up to 78.3% of people had at least one headache in their life. A new study published (February 2019) on 12,136 respondents, 86.53% of respondents reported experiencing pain of all kinds that affect daily life, in which headaches are common. the most variable with the rate of 35.43%. According to the International Headache Society, each year in the US over 45 million people (over 13%) suffer from headaches.
Headaches are classified into 3 main groups (according to the International Classification of Headaches)
Primary headaches : Migraine headaches, tension headaches, cluster headaches and headaches related to the V cord, headaches caused by headaches. Stress factors (cough, sex) ... Secondary headache : Is the result of other diseases such as ENT, rheumatism, trauma (cranial, cervical spine), infection, intracranial vascular disease - cervical spine, non-vascular intracranial causes (hypertension, tumor, decreased ICP...), drug and chemical abuse,... Other headaches related to cranial and central nerves: Pain 5 cranial nerve

In fact, doctors have many complaints of headache with eye pain, including pain around the eye socket, facial pain around the eye, headache with pain in the eye socket, headache with symptoms eye problems (such as decreased vision, red eyes, watery eyes...) or headaches spreading to the fovea, ...
Most of the cases are primary headaches. Migraine headaches with moderate to severe migraine include pulsating fovea, pain increased with movement, recurrent, photophobia, fear of noises, nausea or vomiting during pain . Patients with acute viral infections such as flu, parainfluenza, viral fever, dengue fever also have symptoms of headache, pain feeling deep in the eye, feeling like stuffing into the eye socket. Patients with debilitating mental illness always complain of headaches accompanied by eye fatigue and insomnia. Primary pain in the V branch I segment with sudden, severe spontaneous pain, like an electric shock, lasting a few seconds to several tens of seconds, accompanied by red eyes, watery eyes...
Headache accompanied by pain pain around the eye sockets secondary such as:
Headache when changing weather, pain mainly in the forehead near the eyes, pain increases when inhaling or snorting, with nasopharyngeal secretions and fever must think of sinus disease. Some other syndromes of Otolaryngology and Odonto-Stomatology cause sudden, quite intense pain not only in the jaw but also in the eye sockets. Headache accompanied by eye pain/foveal pain with reduced visual acuity seen in optic neuritis, glaucoma. Headache accompanied by eye pain with bulging eyes, decreased visual acuity, ophthalmic paralysis .. seen in cavernous sinus arteriovenous fistula. Severe headache with vomiting, decreased visual acuity, photophobia, disturbances of consciousness seen in increased intracranial pressure. Paroxysmal temporal headache with visual impairment/loss, conjunctival edema, enlarged, prominent temporal arteries, and palpable pulse are seen in Horton's disease (temporal arteritis). V cord pain due to vascular-nerve conflict, V cord tumor is also a common disease in practice...

During the examination, the doctor will carefully explore the symptoms: History, onset, progression, pain nature and accompanying signs as well as the patient's pre-existing medical conditions. Headaches with pain/soreness of the eye socket occur infrequently, and are usually mild and not indicative of a serious medical condition. Common causes are due to working with computers for too long, unreasonable rest, and psychological stress. Some of these symptoms are considered serious, the patient needs immediate medical attention and find the cause:
Moderate to severe headache Pain that increases in intensity and frequency Headache, pain/soreness Accompanying eye fossa: Fever; Decrease/loss of vision; Nausea/vomiting, photophobia, fear of noises; Exophthalmisis; Paralysis of the eye; Pain increases when chewing, moving; Consciousness disorder/psycho-behavioral disorder ... Depending on the patient's condition, the doctor checks the cause by specialized techniques such as blood test, cranial CT, cranial MRI, angiogram, ultrasound, recording visual stimulation potential...

Most cases of eye pain headaches are well resolved with common pain relievers and a reasonable rest and work regimen.
Primary headaches such as Migraine, Tension Headache, Nerve Pain ... should be controlled by anti-inflammatory analgesics (NSAIDs), Triptans, muscle relaxants, neuropathic pain relievers...
The pain secondary headache as a consequence of another disease that needs to be treated according to the cause (Glocom, sinusitis, temporal arteritis, optic neuritis, vascular conflict, cavernous sinus disease ...)
In addition, a mode of work - rest, proper nutrition, daily practice with forms such as yoga, meditation, sports, periodical health check is the best way to maintain health, develop early detection of pathological signs and timely effective treatment measures.
Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the hospitals that not only ensures professional quality with a team of leading medical doctors, modern equipment and technology, but also stands out for its examination and consultation services. comprehensive and professional medical consultation and treatment; civilized, polite, safe and sterile medical examination and treatment space.
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