Ofcourse, headaches can be due to eye problems but not as commonly as we think.
The most common causes of headaches are hunger, lack of sleep, dehydration and fatigue. “Sleep is your superpower” is a video you can watch.
There are yet two common conditions that can cause headaches. One is when a child has astigmatism which is one type of refractive error or a glass number which your child has. If the child has astigmatism and does not wear glasses, then the child has to strain to see clearly and this leads to headahces. Another type of refractive error or glass number is hyperopia or long sightedness. If the child has hyperopia and does not wear glasses, then the child is straining to see clearly and this can cause headaches.
The second common cause of headaches is ” Convergence Insufficiency” (CI). Here there is a weakness of the muscles which are responsible for moving both the eyes inward. When we read a book for eg, both our eyes converge to a point on the book. If convergence in not happening then the child is not comfortable reading and starts straining his eyes to see clearly. This constant strain would lead to headaches.
Eye exercise help with CI. The first time your kids eye doctor will teach you and your child the exercise. Then these exercises are be done at home. Only rarely, when the CI is significant, one may need a few sessions of exercises at the hospital on a machine called the synaptophore. This machine is not commonly seen these days but would most likely be at a childrens eye specialist’s practice. Post these sessions the child can start doing these exercises at home.