I have pulsating pain in my forehead while wearing my glasses. What could be the cause?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 19-years-old male. Four months back, I got my new eye prescription. The eye power for my right eye is 5.5, and the left eye is 3.5. For the past ten days, I am feeling pain in my forehead wearing my glasses. I went to my eye doctor and had my eye test done again. The doctor thoroughly checked my eyes with all instruments and said that my eyes have no problem, but my right eye is weak. So he prescribed me Vitamin E tablets and said that my old prescription is correct, and there is no change in prescription. Now it has been ten days. I feel so much pain when I wear my glasses, discomfort in my right eye, and pain in my eye and head. I cannot wear my glasses for even a minute; when I wear my glasses, I feel like my head's blood circulation is stopped, and my head starts freezing. Now the pain is radiating to the jaws also.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your case is a classical case of the wrong power of glasses. It can be either a mistake from the optometrist or doctor who has given you a power prescription. Or it may be the error in the making of glass. So I advise you to get your glasses checked by lensometer. Also, do repeated dilated cycloplegic retinoscopy to get the accurate glass power. I am sure you will get your answer from these two tests. Thanks.

Answer 2

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Sudden onset of pulsating headache on wearing glasses are most commonly associated with wrong glass power. If everything else checks out, then you have to rule out other causes of the headache, but none will occur only on wearing your glasses. Other causes can be, increased IOP (intraocular pressure), Migraine and convergence and accommodative insufficiency. You can get these rules out as well. But going by your history, all these causes seem improbable. Hence I have given you my honest and clinically rational opinion. Have you got your eye power checked after dilated retinoscopy? Since you were so rapid in providing negative feedback, I assume you have had that checked because it can unravel the exact cylindrical eye power and more so the axis. Again I say no other causes will cause you sudden onset headache only on wearing glasses, but also you seem to be quite an expert yourself.By the way, brain tumors can also cause a headache. So get an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) brain with contrast done if you can. I hope the answer is detailed now.