The headache, which is one of the most common health complaints today, can mean a warning about various systems in the body. It is necessary to take it seriously without losing time, especially for headaches caused by eye diseases.

Eye Health and Diseases Specialist Opr. Dr. Murat Ayan stated that ‘neuro-ophthalmology’ is a sub-branch of eye diseases that examines the relationship of the eye with the brain, and said that in some cases, the cause of headaches may be due to eye diseases. Neurological headaches; Tension-induced and hypertension-related headaches, migraine, and very rarely, are caused by tumors or other vascular diseases in the brain. Sinusitis is one of the most important causes of headache. Since sinusitis is felt behind the eyes, especially in childhood, it can be confused with eye diseases. In this case, it would be beneficial to consult a specialist doctor.

Stating that the branch of science that treats headaches caused by eye diseases and deals with common diseases of the eye and nervous system is called neuro-ophthalmology, Ophthalmology Specialist Opr. Dr. Murat Ayan, “Neuro-ophthalmology deals with the visual and visual field findings that usually accompany diseases in the brain, muscle, nerve, around the eye and in the central nervous system. Regular examination is important for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases originating from the eye (optic) nerve. Headaches can sometimes arise from neurological or other health problems, as well as from eye diseases.

Symptoms of neuro-ophthalmology

Referring to the manifestations of neuro-ophthalmology, Opr. Dr. Murat Ayan, “Visual loss (sudden or temporary), blurred vision, visual field loss, double vision, pupil size difference, color vision disorder, difference in eyelid spacing, facial-eye contraction are the most common symptoms in neuroophthalmology diseases. In order to obtain good results in neuro-ophthalmological treatment, it is important that the person undergoes detailed examinations and examinations. The examinations performed are visual acuity, color vision examination, visual field examination, eye movements and eye examinations.

January 2023

Look carefully at your eyes in the mirror. Does one pupil look noticeably larger or smaller than the other? If so, you may have anisocoria.

Anisocoria means you have a case of unequal pupils. One pupil may be larger than normal (enlarged) or the pupil smaller than normal (constricted), resulting in pupils that are different in size. The pupil is the space in the middle of the iris of the eye. It allows light to come onto the retina. The reason it is black is because the light rays in the pupil are absorbed through the tissues in the eye and the scattering of the rays do not come back out through the pupil.

What is the treatment method of anisocoria and unequal sized pupils?

Anisocoria is a condition in which one of the two pupils is larger or smaller than the other. Pupil is the name given to the place in the middle of the eye. It enlarges or shrinks to adjust the size of the light coming into the eye. Normally the pupils are equal in size. The case of inequality is called anisocoria . The types of anisocoria are as follows:

1. Physiological Anisocoria: This is the most common type of anisocoria. The pupils of the eyes are different sizes from each other by nature. It is seen in -30% of the population. While it may be temporary in some people, it is permanent in others. The difference between the pupils is known to be about 11 mm.
2. Mechanical Anisocoria: In order for this variety to occur, there must have been outer damage to the eye beforehand. As a result, this type of the disease may occur. Causes of mechanical anisocoria may be traumas to the eye and eye infections. This condition is mostly permanent. The underlying causes heavily damage the eye structure and the damage may remain even after healing.
3. Pathological Anisocoria: There may be a medical reason for this disease to occur. Some medical reasons; other diseases affecting the optic nerves, a disease affecting the iris, eye infections. By treating the cause of pathological anisocoria , the pupil size difference can usually be corrected.

What are the causes of anisocoria?

There are many causes of anisocoria. These reasons can be listed as follows:

1. Ocumulator Nerve Paralysis: This nerve is the third cranial nerve. The causes of this nerve paralysis are known as cerebral hemorrhage, migraine, brain aneurysm, head trauma. Symptoms of this paralysis can be listed as double vision, ptosis, abnormality of the muscles around the eyes, and focusing problem.
2. Horner’s Syndrome: This syndrome occurs as a result of damage to the sympathetic nervous system. It is a syndrome characterized by miosis (constriction of a pupil causing anisocoria), anhidrosis (loss of sweating around the affected eye) and ptosis (droopy eyelid). Another symptom is the size difference between the pupils. Horner’s syndrome is typically caused by an underlying medical problem, such as a stroke, tumor, or spinal cord injury. However, in some cases no cause can be found. There is no specific treatment for Horner’s syndrome, but if it is associated with an identified medical problem, treatment for the condition may resolve Horner’s symptoms, including anisocoria.
3. Tonic Pupil: It is known as a situation where the pupils are larger than they should be in the light environment and the contraction action of the eye takes more time. Most of the time, this disease occurs in women aged 20-40 years. It is known to cause pupils to be one large and one small. This is one of the causes of anisocoria.
4. Medicines: Some drugs may cause a difference between the pupils of the eyes due to their side effects. Anticholinergic, pilocarpine, sympathomimetic are some of the drugs that cause damage to the pupil. It can cause discomfort when used for a long time and a lot of diseases such as anisocoria may occur.
5. Other Causes: Epilepsy, concussion, tumors in the brain, glaucoma, tumors in the eye, brain hemorrhage, eye trauma and infections (uveitis, iritis…).

What are Pupil Diseases and Symptoms?

Anisocoria, a pupillary disease, is the size difference between the pupils. In addition to the causes of this disease, there may also be other symptoms. These symptoms can be listed as follows:

1. Double vision
2. Fever
3. Nausea
4. Continuous vomiting
5. Low eyelids
6. Headache
7. Vision loss
8. Dizziness
9. Blurred vision

January 2023