Cluster headache and eye strain

Eye strain may feel like tired, dry, burning or gritty eyes, blurred focus, light sensitivity or a headache after reading or screen use. Breaks, blinking and corrected vision may ease it. Cluster headache is typically much more severe and one-sided, centred around or behind one eye, and may bring tearing, a red eye, a blocked or runny nostril, facial sweating or marked restlessness on that side.

These patterns can overlap, and eye pain should not be self-diagnosed. A painful red eye, halos around lights, nausea or reduced vision can signal an eye emergency rather than strain or cluster headache.

Pause close work, adjust glare and brightness, blink often and use prescribed glasses or contact lenses correctly. Keep a diary of screen exposure, attack timing, eye redness, tearing, vision changes and associated nose symptoms. Do not use someone else’s eye drops, and do not rely on repeated painkillers without medical advice. A GP or eye professional can assess vision and decide whether the headache pattern needs further evaluation.

Get urgent eye or emergency care for sudden vision loss, severe eye pain with a red eye, halos, injury, unequal pupils, weakness, confusion or a sudden explosive headache. Arrange a timely appointment when one-sided attacks recur, wake you from sleep, or come with tearing and nasal symptoms. New symptoms in a person with an established headache pattern also merit review.

Does my symptom pattern look more like eye strain, cluster headache or an eye disorder? Should my vision and eye pressure be checked? What attack details should I record? Which symptoms mean I should seek urgent help?