(Relaxnews) – But a new study finds that’s actually not the case.
Researchers from the ophthalmology clinic of Albany Medical Center in New York reviewed the medical records of nearly 160 children under 18 years old who were seen at the clinic for frequent headaches.
Results found no correlation between headaches and the need for vision correction. Even children who already wore eyeglasses didn’t need upgrades to their prescriptions at the time of their reported headaches.
While the researchers didn’t probe the other causes of headaches, they did find that in most cases, children’s headaches resolved over time, whether or not they wore glasses or needed glasses at some point in their childhood. Follow-ups showed that headaches improved in nearly 77 percent of all study subjects.
"We hope our study will help reassure parents that in most cases their children’s headaches are not related to vision or eye problems, and that most headaches will clear up in time," said Zachary Roth, M.D., who led the research team. "The information should also be useful to family doctors and pediatricians in caring for children and parents who have this common health concern."
Roth is presenting his study, announced Monday, at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, November 10-13, in Chicago.