Children's headaches not usually linked to vision problems

When children complain of headaches, many parents jump to the conclusion that their child needs glasses. However, researchers have determined that this is rarely the case and that usually the headaches going away on their own without vision correction. Recently a team of pediatric ophthalmologists reviewed records from 2002 to 2011 for 158 patients under the age of 18 who had gone to their eye care professional for an eye exam after suffering recurrent headaches. However, eye examinations determined that visual correction did not seem to be the cause of, or even a substantial factor for, the headaches. In more than 76 percent of the patients, the headaches resolved over time whether they got new glasses or not. 72 percent of the patients with new prescriptions saw their headaches go away while 78 percent of the patients who did not receive new prescriptions saw their headaches diminish. Researchers advise that parents and doctors consider other possible causes of the headaches such as migraines and sinusitis when evaluating children with recurrent headaches.*