Migraine Headaches (2012) & Dry Eye Connection

Learn more about holistic treatment of migraine headaches and dry eyes.

Researchers have long suspected that there may be a connection between dry eyes and migraine headaches - this study investigates that tie by investigating the relationship between tear capacity and migraine symptoms in patients.

This study had the object of observing and comparing the symptoms of 33 patients who had migraines and 33 controls who had no migraines and no eye conditions. All of the patients were given a complete eye exam including a variety of test to validate or exclude dry eye conditions. Patients who had been experiencing migraines were identified as to whether or not they experienced migraine auras and the intensity of the pain they experienced based on a standard assessment test.

The researchers determined that 51% of the migraine patients had migraines with aura, 33% had no auras, and 15% had basilar migraine (a variation of migraine, mostly experienced by young people and sometimes including dizziness, ringing in the years, speech slurring, and severe headache).

There were distinct differences in the dry eye assessments and the researchers concluded that dry eye disease was significantly more likely to be seen in patients who also suffered from migraines. They thought that it is possible that some migraine headaches might be worsened by dry eye syndrome.

Published: Cornea. 2012 Jun 15, Dry Eyes and Migraines: Is There Really a Correlation? Koktekir BE, Celik G, Karalezli A, Kal A.

Researchers: Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey Departments of Neurology Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey.