Headache in the temples and pressure on the eyes treatment

Types of diseases that cause pain in the forehead and temples

According to medical statistics, in 90% of cases the cause of pain is stress, lack of sleep and other factors. Serious pathologies are diagnosed in only 10% of situations; attacks can be triggered by:

cold;
glaucoma;
myopia;
visual impairment;
stomach disease;
acute or chronic infections and inflammatory processes;
diseases of the vascular system;
migraine;
tumors;
circulatory disorders.

Often headaches in the eyes and forehead are caused by high blood pressure or intracranial pressure.

Causes

The cause of pain in the temples and eyes can be various infections. There may also be flu, sinusitis and vegetative-vascular dystonia. Such pain may indicate blood flow problems. Stress and intense physical activity can provoke discomfort in the head. There may also be diseases such as tumors in the skull and brain injuries.

It happens that eye fatigue occurs due to the fact that a person sits at the computer for a long time. The mucous membrane of the eyeballs can become irritated, red, and dry because you rarely blink while using a laptop. Before you start working at the computer, you must wear glasses or special lenses.

The cause of pain may be vegetative-vascular dystonia due to vascular spasms. In this condition, even a small change in the weather can cause pain in the temples and eyes. Increased blood pressure is also the reason why pain occurs. Colds can also provoke pain in the temporal region and radiate to the eyes.

Other causes of pain

Cephalgia can occur as a result of hypoxia or overstrain of blood vessels and muscles due to mental work and visual tension, as well as stress, emotional turmoil, and lack of sleep. These are the most common causes that resolve on their own after proper rest. Atmospheric pressure can also cause an attack. People who often consume processed foods, foods with dyes, additives and preservatives may experience headaches. The components included in the composition slow down metabolic processes and clog blood vessels. The causes of attacks include:

dehydration;
poisoning;
diarrhea;
drinking a lot of coffee;
alcohol;
exposure to bright sun or strong wind;
long stay in a hot room.

Headache in the forehead and eyes can be caused by preeclampsia, which occurs during the pathological course of pregnancy. The condition is extremely dangerous and requires immediate hospitalization of the expectant mother. Attacks can also be caused by hormonal imbalances during menstruation and menopause, as well as head injuries, regardless of when they occurred.

Causes of the symptom

Why does pain appear simultaneously in the temple area and eyes? This symptom is sometimes one-time and occurs due to vasospasm or pinching of the optic nerve. But if the pain in the temples is constant and puts pressure on the eyes, this indicates the development of the disease.

Migraine

The disease most often develops in females. The frequency of migraine attacks is explained by a constant malfunction of the blood vessels in the brain. The duration of pain in the temples and eyes reaches 3 days. A migraine attack appears suddenly after sleep or in the late afternoon.

Let's look at the full symptoms of the disease:

Throbbing headache and eye pain. In rare cases, the symptom appears on only one side of the skull. Discomfort in the frontal area is considered a harbinger of an attack. Then the person has a headache in the temple area, and then the pain presses on the eyes.
Nausea and weakness in the body. Symptoms appear later. Sometimes nausea turns into vomiting.
A quarter of seizures begin with visual defects. Black dots and spots appear before the eyes.
Unpleasant sensations in the eye area. The pain seems to be pressing from the other side.
Efficiency drops. The person feels overwhelmed.

Trigeminal neuralgia

The disease develops against the background of the formation of an inflammatory process in the maxillofacial area. But there is another provoking factor that has a psychogenic effect.

A characteristic feature of trigeminal neuralgia is a shooting pain in the temple that radiates to the eye. Sometimes pain occurs in the jaw and ears. The procedure of brushing teeth and chewing food becomes painful.

Glaucoma

The disease occurs when intraocular pressure periodically increases. As a result, the optic nerve tissue is damaged. Glaucoma is an eye pathology that is accompanied by painful attacks. Often the pain changes location, moving to the temporal region. The following signs are added to the main symptom:

fear of light;
nausea;
gagging;
the natural shade of the eyes often changes to green;
During an attack, the pupils dilate.

Temporal arteritis

Chronic inflammation of the artery in the temple area is called temporal arteritis. If you press the affected vessel with your finger, pain appears in the temple area, which radiates to the eyes. Pain occurs on one or more sides of the skull.

Simultaneous damage to the artery in the temple and eye is accompanied by painful attacks, which in their nature resemble migraines. At the same time, a person’s vision deteriorates. The chewing reflex and eye movements are accompanied by pain in the temples.

Cluster headache

The clinical picture of the disease is similar to migraine attacks. But cluster headaches appear predominantly in men. Seasonality is noted. The attacks are usually of a burning, boring nature. Usually the pain radiates to the temple and eyes.

Unpleasant sensations interfere with work and everyday activities. Additional symptoms include:

redness of the facial skin;
nasal congestion;
profuse lacrimation;
swelling, swelling around the eyelids;
general weakness of the body;
increased sweating.

Read more about headaches and eye pain here.

Arterial hypertension

In the presence of hypertension, pain usually manifests itself in the back of the head. But in some cases, pain appears in the temples.

When closing the eyelids, a person feels pressure on the eyes from the inside. In addition to the main symptom, the following are observed:

noise, ringing in the ears;
gagging;
sharp flashes in the eyes;
loss of consciousness - in especially severe cases, when blood pressure rises much higher than normal;
impaired blood flow in the meninges;
gradual development of hemorrhoidal stroke.

Viral diseases

The main sign of the appearance of most viral diseases is the formation of headaches in the temple area. Moreover, a person develops weakness in the body. In addition to the described symptom, the person experiences a fever and increased temperature.

Injury

Injuries to the skull lead to disruptions in the blood flow to the brain. Pain attacks the temple, eyes from the inside, if the injury is directed to the face or forehead. Pressing pain is observed when an aneurysm ruptures. A prerequisite for a dangerous condition is considered to be causeless discomfort in the eyes.

Overwork

Overwork can be physical and mental. Pressing pain in the temples and eyes is often caused by mental overstrain. Therefore, office workers who sit in a static position and look at a computer screen throughout the day suffer from this symptom.

Emotional fatigue has a bad effect on a person’s well-being. Often headaches in the temples occur in the evening, when the working day is over. If there is excessive psycho-emotional stress, a long rest is required. Otherwise, poor health appears periodically.

Additionally, see tips on how you can recover from overwork:

Intracranial pressure

At what pressure does your temples and eyes hurt a lot? When the volume of cerebrospinal fluid, a special fluid, increases in the brain, intracranial pressure increases. Therefore, a person suddenly develops a headache in the temples, which gradually spreads to the eyes. You cannot measure intracranial pressure yourself. For this they turn to doctors.

Symptoms accompanying pain in the forehead and temples

If a headache in the forehead and temples is accompanied by additional symptoms, it will be easier for the doctor to make a diagnosis. At the same time, self-treatment is dangerous; incorrect and uncontrolled use of drugs can aggravate the condition. Cephalgia can be supplemented by:

fever;
signs of a cold;
nausea and vomiting;
clouding of consciousness;
pain when chewing;
dizziness;
numbness of the limbs;
pale or red skin;
weakness and general malaise;
loss of appetite and so on.

All these signs require a doctor to be called to your home. Treatment for additional symptoms is short-term, and often taking analgesics for headaches is ineffective. Treatment should be aimed at eliminating the cause.

Why does the head hurt in the back of the head and puts pressure on the eyes?

1) Wrong eating habits.

Excessive consumption of alcohol, salty and fatty foods, strong coffee and tea provoke a feeling of pressure in the eyes and back of the head.

2) Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.

Damage to the intervertebral discs impedes the outflow of lymph, blood circulation and the transmission of nerve impulses. In chronic illness, discomfort increases when bending forward or to the side.

3) Weather sensitivity.

It is a frequent companion of vegetative-vascular dystonia. Weather-sensitive people know firsthand how the back of the head burns, hurts and presses. The condition worsens before a sudden change in weather. Before rain, snow or wind, the back of the head begins to ache, and it’s as if something is pressing on the eyes. Efficiency immediately decreases, mood deteriorates, and irritability appears.

4) Neck spondylosis.

This is a dangerous disease during which the connective tissue of the cervical spine gradually turns into bone. Hard growths interfere with movement, causing pain, swelling and dizziness. People with reduced motor activity, elderly and bedridden patients are highly likely to experience cervical spondylosis.

5) Hypertension and hypotension.

Opposite states of high and low blood pressure. With hypotension, a person often experiences aching in the back of the head. With hypertension, the eyes hurt and there is a feeling of pressure on them.

6) Cervical myositis.

This is a non-infectious muscle inflammation. Often occurs due to hypothermia (blown air), sleep or a long trip in an uncomfortable position. Discomfort first occurs on the back of the neck, and then gradually moves to the back of the head. With myositis, painful sensations often occur symmetrically.

7) Myogelosis.

Due to impaired blood circulation (congenital pathologies, consequences of surgery, trauma, or age-related degeneration of vascular connective tissue), dense, painful seals appear in the place of muscles and ligaments.

Inflammation of the cervical nerve.

Discomfort occurs in attacks. And it requires long-term treatment. Along with pain, loss of sensitivity in the affected area is observed.

9) Vascular pain.

In simple terms, these are spasms in the large vessels of the head. Due to impaired blood flow, dull pain occurs in the back of the head. After all, this is where most of the veins are located. A characteristic symptom is swelling of the eyelids and a feeling of heaviness, pressure in the eye area.

10) Increased intracranial pressure.

Discomfort occurs with traumatic brain injuries, dehydration, and intoxication. The phenomenon is accompanied by dizziness and vomiting.

11) Excessive physical activity.

Often, after lifting weights at the gym or in the countryside, a tingling sensation in the back of the head and pressure in the eye area begins.

12) Incorrect bite.

Pain in the back of the head often begins in adolescence, when the jaw begins to grow rapidly. After wisdom teeth erupt, the situation worsens. Pain also accompanies age-related degenerative changes (sagging crowns, loss of teeth).

Pain of this nature can appear for various reasons, the most common of which are:

normal fatigue. Most often, it accompanies frequent and long periods of time in front of a TV, monitor, or laptop screen.
increased intracranial pressure. Associated symptoms include spots in the eyes, general weakness, and dizziness. There is a feeling of pressure on the eyes from under the crown. In addition, rapid heartbeat, noise in the head, nausea, and high blood pressure are possible.
pain in the head, accompanied by pain in the eyes, can occur due to the incorrect selection of glasses or contact lenses, namely, the optical power of the lenses is greater than necessary. The eye is under constant tension, the visual apparatus needs to make efforts to provide the required level of vision, as a result it becomes overtired and painful sensations arise. Most often the pain appears in the afternoon.
concussion. If you notice that after an injury, even, as it seems to you, a minor one, a small blow to the head, headaches appear pressing on your eyes, there is a high probability that you have a concussion.
high blood pressure. Especially if the headache intensifies when sneezing or coughing. You need to see a doctor to reduce your blood pressure to normal levels.

Diagnostics

To make a diagnosis, the patient needs to undergo a series of examinations. Initially, the doctor asks about the location, nature and intensity of pain, as well as accompanying symptoms. The person will need to do:

X-ray;
electroencephalography;
magnetic resonance imaging;
computed tomography;
electromyography;
ultrasound diagnostics.

In addition, it is necessary to donate urine and blood for laboratory tests; the patient may need additional tests.

First aid for headaches in the forehead

If the pain is not severe and is not accompanied by other symptoms, there is no need to be nervous, aggravating the situation even more. In most cases, the problem can be dealt with without resorting to medications. To relieve an attack, you must:

Turn off the TV, computer and put away the phone. Stop reading and stop performing any activities that require concentration or vision.
Go outside or open a window indoors.
Drink a glass of chamomile tea or water with a slice of lemon.
Lie in a warm bath, adding pine or lemon essential oil.

After completing these procedures, it is recommended to have a massage and get a good night's sleep. If the pain does not go away, you need to see a doctor and get examined.

Pain pills

Medicines for cephalalgia have contraindications, so before use it is recommended to consult a specialist and read the instructions. Medicines are divided into groups:

Analgesics are quick-acting medications. They relieve pain and reduce fever. Drink them 30 minutes after meals, this helps reduce the load on the gastrointestinal tract and allows the components to be better absorbed.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs provide long-lasting pain relief for about 6-10 hours. They are considered the most effective and safe. Contraindications include intolerance, pregnancy, age under 12 years, hematopoietic disorders and some other diseases of internal organs.
Antispasmodics – relieve spasms, dilate blood vessels, and bring blood pressure back to normal.
Vasoconstrictor drugs are taken as an anesthetic for no more than 5 days, and as an antipyretic - for up to 3 days.

When choosing tablets, take into account the nature of the pain and the cause of its appearance:

Tension pain. This group includes migraines, which can occur at any time without cause. Most often, localization is unilateral in the forehead and temple area. Precursors of an attack are usually numbness of the upper extremities, increased reaction to unpleasant odors, and cough. In such cases, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs help: Nurofen, Ibuprom, Imet. The tablets have few side effects and a long lasting effect.
If an attack occurs against the background of dilation or constriction of blood vessels due to hypotension or hypertension, take tablets that normalize blood pressure. Hypertension can be treated with Citramon, Guaranine, Theobromine, Caffeine-sodium benzoate. Therapy for hypotension includes: Verapamil, Losartan, Artesin, Captopril.
With cephalalgia, which occurs against the background of changes in the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid located in the spinal cord, a person feels strong pressure. You can get rid of pain: Paracetamol, Diclofenac, Bral. But the pills eliminate the symptoms temporarily; a person needs to undergo diagnostics as quickly as possible; similar manifestations occur with a tumor and meningitis.
For psychogenic cephalgia caused by stress, workaholism, etc., therapy with sedatives helps: Persen, Novo-passit, Tenoten, Valocardin.
Headaches often appear during pregnancy. At this time, you need to be especially careful with the choice of medications. Up to 12 weeks, it is better to use Paracetamol, Persen or Phytosedan. Aspirin, Tryptamine, Propranolol should be strictly avoided.

Contraindications for most tablets include individual intolerance to the components in the composition, pregnancy and lactation, childhood, ulcerative lesions of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as the presence of:

pathologies of the heart and blood vessels;
hepatitis A;
dermatosis;
bronchial asthma;
allergies;
liver and kidney diseases.

If the medicine does not relieve pain, do not exceed the recommended dosage. This increases the risk of side effects. The selected drug should not be taken for more than 5 days in a row and combined with another medicine without a doctor’s prescription. Many medications affect concentration; car drivers should take this into account.

Folk remedies

There are many non-traditional recipes for headaches, these include various infusions and decoctions of herbs, vegetables, fruits, and berries. The variety of products allows a person to prepare a product from ingredients available at home. To relieve headache attacks, do the following:

The cabbage leaf is kneaded so that it releases juice and at the same time retains its shape. Then it is applied to the forehead and temples for several minutes. Vegetable juice is also useful; drink it before meals, half a glass, three times a day.
You can apply a compress of olive oil and apple cider vinegar taken in equal proportions to your head.
For severe cephalalgia, it is recommended to drink blackcurrant juice three times a day, ¼ cup.
A glass of warm water with 1 small spoon of honey has the same effect.
It is believed that cranberry juice helps in the fight against fever and headaches.
You can prepare a decoction of valerian, St. John's wort, calendula, chamomile, wild strawberry. Take 25 grams of each ingredient, add 1 liter of hot water, boil for 10 minutes, cool and filter. The medicine is taken 1-2 glasses per day.
An infusion of coltsfoot, nettle and fireweed helps with pain. Take 20 grams of herbs, add 500 ml of hot water, leave for 15 minutes and filter. The liquid is consumed daily, 200 ml.
Viburnum bark in a volume of 30 g is poured into 500 ml of hot liquid, boiled for 20 minutes, left for 10 minutes and filtered. The daily dose of the decoction should not exceed 15 ml.
If the pain is caused by vasoconstriction, drink ginger tea. For expansion, 3-4 glasses per day are enough, which are drunk over several hours.
For quick results, it is recommended to eat 2-3 cloves of garlic.
Previously, for attacks, they used a decoction of 1 large spoon of clover flowers and a glass of boiling water. The drink was infused for half an hour, then filtered and drunk half a glass three times a day.
If the headache manifests itself as compression and occurs with low blood pressure, you need to drink a glass of strong tea with sugar, a cup of coffee with cognac or a glass of vodka.

In addition to folk recipes, the following may be effective in the treatment of cephalalgia:

Reflexology. Exposure to active points with needles not only relieves headaches, but also treats many other pathologies.
Hirudotherapy is a treatment with leeches. Hirudin was found in their saliva, which promotes the resorption of blood clots and prevents their formation. Thanks to the substance, blood vessels are cleansed and blood circulation improves.
Azone therapy is oxygen treatment by injecting a syringe with a special mixture under the skin. The procedure promotes the rapid removal of decay products, normalizes blood pressure, acts as an analgesic and has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Special gymnastics, as well as head massage, are useful. The latter is especially relevant during pregnancy, since during this period many things are prohibited. It begins with the temples, gradually moving to the area between the eyebrows and the bridge of the nose. Next, massage the back of the head and ears. Approximate massage time is 15-20 minutes. After the procedure, blood circulation improves, spasm and tension are relieved. Relief occurs almost immediately.
A cold compress can also relieve cephalalgia.
Ointments containing menthol and capsaicin give a good effect. They are applied to the temples, under the nose and above the eyebrows. Capsaecin content is found in peppers, so you can simply smell it.
Another option for pain relief is using a towel. The towel is twisted into a rope and they begin to rub the neck and back of the head vigorously.

Sometimes you need to work with a psychologist, art therapy, meditation, art training. In order not to provoke attacks, a person needs to give up alcohol, the aldehyde that is part of it provokes headaches and poisoning of the body. It is necessary to stop consuming or minimize the amount of products with monosodium glutamate, tyramine, and nitrates. You also need to make the workplace as comfortable as possible; it is advisable to replace the chair with an option with an orthopedic back. A person should avoid stress, take more rest when working at the computer, get enough sleep, and be outside more.

Vascular diseases

Temporal arteritis

This is an inflammation of blood vessels that has an immunological development mechanism. It can cause pain in the temples and eyes; the reason for this is swelling of the intima of the temporal artery, which reduces its lumen, slows down the blood flow and creates conditions for the formation of blood clots.

The disease can affect any arteries, arterioles, veins and capillaries, but temporal arteritis is the most common and easiest to detect. If you look closely at the temple, you will see that the skin here is quite thin and the inflamed vessel clearly appears under it.

Due to its swelling, an acute headache occurs in the temples and eyes, which can radiate to the neck, tongue and even shoulder. It can occur against the background of partial or complete loss of vision, which is a signal that the eye vessels are involved in the inflammatory process. Vision deteriorates and diplopia occurs.

Pain in the eye and temple intensifies when chewing, partial ptosis (drooping) of the eyelid on the affected side is visible, the temporal part of the head is swollen. As a rule, the disease affects older patients, as their blood vessels become more fragile and susceptible to immune inflammation.

Headache in the temples and eyes due to arteritis can be triggered by changes in hormonal levels, hereditary predisposition, infectious-toxic inflammation of blood vessels (the most dangerous in this sense are staphylococci and viruses that cause hepatitis).

Pain in the eyes in this case is just one of the symptoms, which is eliminated only by treating the underlying disease. Vascular strengthening, venotonic and antithrombotic drugs are used for treatment, and glucocorticosteroids are used to suppress the immunological mechanism of arteritis. Also, the area of the thrombosed vessel can be surgically removed.

Aneurysm

Thinning of the wall of a blood vessel for any reason (atherosclerosis, inflammation, arteritis, congenital pathology) leads to the formation of a protrusion in this place, and then a kind of “pocket”. The most typical place for the formation of such protrusions is:

the internal carotid artery at the site of its division into the posterior communicating and ophthalmic arteries;
anterior cerebral arteries;
area of division of the middle cerebral artery.

Typically, aneurysms are small in size - up to a centimeter, so protrusions measuring about two centimeters are considered gigantic. These formations pose a danger to the patient's life, as they can spontaneously rupture with profuse hemorrhage.

But even the very presence of a foreign formation in the brain manifests itself in pain in the temples and pressure on the eyes. Possible visual impairment due to pressure on the optic nerve, epileptic seizures, and cerebral ischemia.

When it breaks through, the oculomotor nerve is most often affected. The frontal part of the head begins to hurt locally first, which is a harbinger of a full-blown symptom complex of hemorrhage from an aneurysm of the internal carotid artery.

If a cerebral aneurysm is detected, surgical intervention is indicated to isolate this area from the general circulation.

Hemorrhages

Intracranial hematomas can occur either due to a rupture of an aneurysm or due to a bruise or penetrating head injury. In this case, the resulting hematoma gradually compresses the substance of the brain, damaging its nerve centers.

I feel a headache pressing on my eyes. If the hematoma is located close to the optic chiasm or optic tract, then visual impairment may occur. The pain is intense and is not relieved by taking analgesics.