It lasts three months or longer without treatment. Hemicrania continua is a headache that usually happens on the left or right side of your head or face. Causes of headaches on the side of the head In many cases, the direction (left or right side) isn't very important. Headache on the right or left side of your headĪnother headache location is pain on one side of your head or face. Graves' disease with thyroid eye disease – Dry eye drops, sunglasses, eyelid tape, special glasses for double vision, steroid medication, surgery of the orbital area around the eyes Sinus headache – Antibiotics, decongestant nasal spray, saline nasal spray, warm compress, inhaling steam, neti pot Migraine – Over-the-counter pain reliever, prescription headache medicine, stress management, cold compress, lying in a dark roomĬluster headache – Oxygen mask, prescription nasal spray or injection for headache painĮye strain – Frequent breaks, the 20-20-20 rule, new prescription glasses or contacts, reading glasses SEE RELATED: Why do my eyes hurt? Treatmentĭeciding how to get rid of your headache depends on what's causing it in the first place. MS can cause eye problems like double vision and uncontrollable eye movements, too. One of them is a nervous system disease called multiple sclerosis (MS). Several conditions can cause optic neuritis. It may feel worse when you move your eyes. Optic neuritis usually causes pain behind one eye, but you might feel it behind both eyes, too. Information about the light you see has to travel through your optic nerve to get from each eye to your brain. Optic neuritis is swelling or damage to your optic nerve. It can also cause glaucoma and optic atrophy (damage to the optic nerve). Thyroid eye disease can cause other eye symptoms too, such as dry eyes, light sensitivity or double vision. The pain might get worse when you move your eyes.

Over time, swelling can lead to headaches that feel like they're inside or behind your eye. It can make the eye sockets swell behind the eyes and cause the eyes to bulge. This makes your thyroid produce too much thyroid hormone.Ībout a third of people get thyroid eye disease as a result. Graves' disease happens when your immune system attacks the thyroid gland in your neck by mistake. You might also notice eye redness, drooping eyelids or sweat on your forehead.

Most headaches last between one and three hours. They aren't very common.Ī cluster headache is usually most painful 10 to 15 minutes after it starts. One study found that nearly 9 in 10 patients complaining of sinus headaches were actually having migraines.Ĭluster headaches are sudden bursts of pain around or behind one eye. Most of the time, they're actually migraines in disguise. Sinus headaches are rarer than many people think. The pain should stop once the infection goes away. They can hurt on other parts of your head and face, too. Some infections cause pain that feels like a headache behind or between your eyes. Viruses and bacteria can both cause them. Sinus infections happen when fluid builds up in the small pockets inside your head (sinuses) and gets infected. New glasses, contact lenses or reading glasses should help you feel better.Īn eye doctor will give you an up-to-date vision prescription after a comprehensive eye exam.

Some eye strain is caused or made worse by a common problem with your eyesight, such as farsightedness, nearsightedness or presbyopia (age-related farsightedness). But this might not help as much if it triggered another kind of headache. The feeling should get better after you take a break and let your eyes rest. It can sometimes trigger a migraine or tension headache, but not always.Įye strain can make the area behind your eyes feel sore or uncomfortable. You might feel it when you've been looking at a digital screen or small print for a while without a break.

It can also be called a 'visual migraine,' but doctors don't use that term very much anymore.Įye strain can happen when you overwork your eyes. Some people see unusual effects in their vision before the headache starts. People usually get a headache behind their left eye or right eye. They can also make you feel sick to your stomach and sensitive to light.Īround one in eight Americans gets migraines or has gotten them before. Migraines can cause a headache behind your eyes, but most people only feel pain behind one eye.

Pain in left eyeball and headache