Dry eye… among all the potential ocular symptoms associated with migraine headaches, dry eye is the one most closely associated with reduced quality of life.
Study: Is there any relationship between dry eye disease and migraines?
Abstract: Botox for photophobia and dryness sensation in migraine patients
Abstract: The eye and migraines....
Those of you who suffer from migraines and/or those who are interested in holistic rather than compartmentalized medicine (a/k/a "I am not a pair of disembodied eyeballs!") may want to look up this review from Moran Eye Center in SLC for more details:
J Neuroophthalmol. 2018 May 2. doi: 10.1097/WNO.0000000000000660. [Epub ahead of print]
More Than Meets the Eye: The Eye and Migraine-What You Need to Know.
Digre KB.
Abstract
Migraine has long been associated with disturbances of vision, especially migraine with aura. However, the eye plays an important role in sensory processing as well. We have found that the visual quality of life is reduced in migraine. In this review, we discuss how the migraine and eye pain pathways are similar and affect many of the common complaints which are seen in ophthalmology and neuro-ophthalmology offices, such as dry eye and postoperative eye pain. We also review other related phenomena, including visual snow and photophobia, which also are related to altered sensory processing in migraine.
Study about the Impact of dysfunctional tear films and optical aberrations on chronic migraine
ABSTRACT: The impact of dysfunctional tear films and optical aberrations on chronic migraine.
Eye Vis (Lond). 2017 Feb 21;4:4. doi: 10.1186/s40662-017-0070-1. eCollection 2017.
Shetty R1, Deshpande K1, Jayadev C1, Wadia K1, Mehta P1, Shroff R1, Rao HL1.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Migraine is a multifactorial disorder with complex neuronal and vascular mechanisms that encompasses a wide clinical spectrum of symptoms, including ocular manifestations. Dry eye disease and dysfunction of ocular somatosensory pathways have been implicated in the pathogenesis. The current study investigates the association between a dysfunctional tear film and ocular aberrations with migraine.
METHODS:
Sixty eyes of 30 patients with migraine and 60 eyes of 30 controls were studied. Dry eye evaluation included Schirmer's test, tear film break-up time, corneal esthesiometry and lipid layer analysis using Lipiview® interferometer. Wavefront aberrations were measured using Optical Path Difference before performing the dry eye evaluation. The intraocular light scatter was quantified using the objective scatter index (OSI) of the optical quality analysis system. Measured parameters were compared between the migraine and the control group using independent sample t-test. Statistical analysis was performed using commercial software. A p value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS:
There were 19 females and 11 males in each group. Statistically significant difference was found between the two groups with respect to total aberrations (p = 0.049), higher order aberrations (p = 0.009), coma (p = 0.03), spherical aberrations (p = 0.018), Lipiview interferometric coloric units (p < 0.001) and OSI (p < 0.001). Trefoil (p = 0.26) and TBUT (p = 0.398) were not significantly different between both groups.
CONCLUSIONS:
Ocular aberrations are higher in patients with migraine as compared with controls. Tear film abnormalities add to the aberrations in otherwise asymptomatic patients and may also be associated with migraineous attacks. Treating the ocular surface to obtain a healthy tear film might introduce a potential modifiable factor in the prevention of migraneous attacks.