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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, usually. Tension headaches, migraine, eye strain and sinus pain, the usual causes, are diagnosed from your symptoms and treated by video; a painful red eye or loss of vision needs emergency care.
- Usually not serious: most headaches go away on their own and are not a sign of something more serious.
- One eye or both: pressure behind both eyes is typical of a tension headache or eye strain; pain behind one eye is more typical of migraine or a cluster headache.
- Screens: long spells at a screen can strain the eyes and cause headaches; looking into the distance every 20 minutes helps.
- Emergency: call 112 for a red, painful eye with blurred vision, sudden loss of vision, or a sudden, severe headache that reaches its worst within 5 minutes.
Do not book a video appointment if you have intense eye pain with a red eye, blurred vision or coloured rings around lights, sudden loss of vision, a drooping eyelid or one pupil smaller than the other for the first time, swelling or redness around an eye, numbness, weakness or slurred speech, or a sudden, extremely painful headache. Call 112 or go to an emergency department.
Can an online doctor treat a headache behind the eyes?
Yes. The usual causes, tension headaches, migraine, eye strain and sinus pain, are diagnosed from what you describe: where the pain is, what it feels like, how long it lasts and what comes with it. A doctor can tell them apart by video and treat them. A red, painful eye, changes in vision, a drooping eyelid or new weakness need emergency care, and some eye problems need an examination in person.
How an online consultation helps with a headache behind the eyes
- The cause worked out: Tension headache, migraine, eye strain, sinusitis or cluster headache each need a different plan.
- Eye problems ruled out: A red, painful eye, vision changes or a drooping eyelid mean emergency care.
- Relief that fits: Painkillers used the right way, migraine treatment, screen habits or sinus care.
- Fewer headaches: Triggers, painkiller use and prevention are reviewed when headaches keep coming back.
What the doctor checks in an online consultation about a headache behind the eyes
The doctor asks about the warning signs first, then about the pain and your eyes. The doctor asks about:
- Warning signs: a red, painful eye, blurred or double vision, loss of vision, coloured rings around lights, a drooping eyelid, numbness, weakness, confusion, a high temperature or a stiff neck.
- The pain: behind one eye or both, pressing, throbbing, burning or stabbing, how quickly it starts, how long it lasts and how often it comes.
- What comes with it: feeling sick, sensitivity to light or noise, zigzag lines or flashing lights, a red or watering eye, a blocked or runny nose, or restlessness.
- Your eyes: screen time, reading and driving, glasses or contact lenses, your last eye test, and whether moving your eyes hurts.
- Triggers: stress, sleep, alcohol, missed meals, how much you drink, and smoking.
- Painkillers: what you take, and on how many days a month.
- Your health: your age, pregnancy, a recent cold or sinus problems, a recent head injury, and your medicines.
Before the call, note when the headaches started, how long they last and what you have taken. Have good light so the doctor can look at your eyes and eyelids on video.
What causes a headache behind the eyes?
Most headaches go away on their own and are not a sign of something more serious. Pain behind the eyes usually comes from one of the common headaches, from the eyes themselves or from the sinuses. These are the main causes, and how each is cared for:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Condition | Typical signs | Online care |
|---|---|---|
| Tension headache | Pressure or a tight band on both sides of the head, across the forehead and behind the eyes; you can carry on with your day | Treated online |
| Migraine | A throbbing headache, often on one side, worse when you move, with feeling sick or sensitivity to light or noise | Treated online |
| Migraine with aura | Zigzag lines, flashing lights or blind spots before or with the headache | Treated online |
| Eye strain | Sore, tired eyes and a headache after screens, reading or driving, easing with rest | Handled online |
| Sinus headache | Pain and tenderness around the cheeks, eyes or forehead after a cold, with a blocked nose and coloured mucus | Treated online |
| Cluster headache | Sharp, burning or piercing pain around one eye for 15 to 180 minutes, with a red, watering eye on that side and restlessness | Assessed online |
| Occipital neuralgia | Shooting pain from the base of the skull over the scalp, sometimes felt behind the eye on the same side | Partly online |
| Giant cell arteritis | Over 50: a new headache at the temples, a tender scalp, jaw pain when eating, blurred or double vision | Assessed online |
| Optic neuritis, see blurred vision | Pain behind one eye that is worse when you move it, with blurred or faded vision in that eye over hours or days | Assessed online |
| Acute glaucoma | Intense eye pain, a red eye, blurred vision, rainbow-coloured circles around lights, feeling or being sick | Emergency: call 112 |
| Thunderclap headache | A sudden, severe headache that reaches its worst within 5 minutes | Emergency: call 112 |
Brief, sharp stabs behind an eye that last a few seconds are usually ice pick headaches, explained below. Less common causes include thyroid eye disease and an injury to the eye socket.
What causes a headache behind one eye?
Pain behind the left eye and pain behind the right eye have the same causes. What matters is how the pain behaves and what comes with it:
- Throbbing, with feeling sick or sensitivity to light or noise: usually migraine. The headache is often on one side and worse when you move, and an attack usually lasts between 4 hours and 3 days.
- Severe, burning or piercing, around one eye, with a red, watering eye, a drooping eyelid or a blocked nostril on that side: a cluster headache. Attacks last 15 to 180 minutes, can come several times a day for weeks or months, and are so painful that people often cannot keep still.
- Sharp stabs lasting seconds: usually ice pick headaches.
- Shooting pain that starts at the back of the head: occipital neuralgia, which can be felt behind the eye on the same side.
- Aching around the eye and cheek with a blocked nose after a cold: sinusitis.
- Pain on moving the eye, with blurred or faded vision in that eye: optic neuritis, which needs urgent assessment.
- Intense pain in a red eye, with blurred vision or coloured rings around lights: acute glaucoma, which is an emergency.
A new headache on one side after the age of 50, with a tender scalp at the temple or jaw pain when eating, can be giant cell arteritis, which needs urgent tests and treatment to protect your sight.
Why does it hurt behind my eye when I move it?
Pain behind an eye that is worse when you move the eye or look up has a few causes:
- Optic neuritis: inflammation of the optic nerve, usually in one eye. Most people with it have eye pain that is worse with eye movement, and vision in that eye blurs over hours or days, often with faded colours. It can be the first sign of multiple sclerosis, so it needs urgent assessment by an eye specialist. Most people recover their vision.
- Sinusitis: pain and tenderness around the eyes, cheeks or forehead, usually after a cold.
- Eye strain or dry eyes: sore, tired or dry eyes after screens, reading or driving.
- An infection spreading around the eye after sinusitis: a red, swollen eyelid, an eye that is pushed forward, double vision or reduced vision. This is an emergency.
Pain behind the eyes that comes with coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercise is different. A headache brought on or made worse by these needs checking: get medical advice the same day.
Headaches from screens: eye strain
Eyesight problems are a common cause of headaches. Looking at screens, reading without a break or driving long distances can strain the eyes, and people who look at a screen for 2 hours or more in a row every day are most at risk. Eye strain can cause:
- sore, tired, burning or itching eyes
- watery or dry eyes
- blurred or double vision
- a headache
- a sore neck, shoulders or back
- sensitivity to light and difficulty concentrating
Eye strain does not have serious or long-term effects, and it eases when you rest your eyes. To prevent it:
- Follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something about 6 metres (20 feet) away for 20 seconds.
- Place the screen about 50 to 70 cm from your eyes, a little below eye level.
- Position the screen to avoid glare from overhead lights and windows.
- Blink often, to keep your eyes from drying out.
- Have an eye test if your eyes still feel strained after these steps: your glasses may need updating.
The eye strain page covers screen work in more detail, and the dry eye syndrome page covers dry, gritty eyes.
Sharp, stabbing pain behind the eye: ice pick headaches
Ice pick headaches, also called primary stabbing headaches, cause sudden, sharp stabs of pain, most often at the front of the head, around the eyes and temples. Each stab usually lasts under 3 seconds, sometimes in a series, and the stabs can come once or many times a day. They can move from one place to another.
They are more common in women and in people with migraine, who tend to feel the stabs where their migraine usually hurts. They are not usually dangerous and only rarely point to a problem in the brain or nerves. Because each stab is over before a painkiller could work, they do not normally need treatment. If they are frequent, a doctor may suggest a regular medicine, such as indomethacin, an anti-inflammatory painkiller.
See a doctor if the stabs are always in exactly the same spot, if the pain lasts several days or gets in the way of daily life, or if the stabs come with a red, watering eye, a runny nose, dizziness, being sick or changes in vision.
Dehydration, morning headaches and other triggers
Can dehydration cause headaches behind the eyes?
Yes. Not drinking enough fluids is a common cause of headaches, along with drinking too much alcohol, missing meals, stress, bad posture, colds and flu, and taking too many painkillers. Drinking plenty of water is one of the first things to try. The dehydration page has more on it.
Why do I wake up with a headache behind my eyes?
Migraine attacks often start in the early morning. A headache on waking can also come from medication overuse headache, from taking painkillers too often, or from a tension headache after poor sleep or clenching your jaw at night. See a doctor if headaches often wake you or get in the way of your day. If a headache is worse when you lie down, get medical advice the same day.
Is it a sinus headache or a migraine?
Pressure behind the eyes and cheeks is often called a sinus headache, but most people with these symptoms have migraine. The sinus headache page explains how to tell them apart.
Is a headache behind the eyes serious?
Usually not. A few signs, though, mean the pain needs emergency care rather than an appointment.
When is pain behind the eye an emergency?
Intense pain in a red eye, with blurred vision, rainbow-coloured circles around lights or feeling sick, can be acute glaucoma, where the pressure inside the eye rises suddenly. It needs treatment straight away to protect your sight: call 112 or go to an emergency department, and do not drive yourself. A drooping eyelid, or one pupil smaller than the other, appearing for the first time also needs emergency care, even if you have been diagnosed with cluster headaches.
What does a pre-stroke headache feel like?
A stroke can cause a severe headache, but the main signs are in the face, arms and speech: the face drops on one side, one arm is weak or numb, or speech is slurred. Sudden blurred vision or loss of sight in one or both eyes can also be a sign. Call 112 straight away if you notice any of these, even if they stop.
Which treatment for a headache behind the eyes might the doctor recommend?
Treatment follows the cause. This is the framework the doctors use, in line with NICE guidance on headaches:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| What you have | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure behind both eyes, on and off | Paracetamol or ibuprofen, fluids, regular meals and breaks from screens | Yes | If the pattern changes |
| Throbbing pain behind one eye with sickness or light sensitivity | A painkiller, or a triptan with an anti-inflammatory or paracetamol, taken as the headache starts | Yes | If the attacks change, or with weakness or speech problems |
| Sore, tired eyes and headaches after screens | Screen breaks, the 20-20-20 rule and an eye test | Yes | An eye test at an optician |
| Facial pressure and a blocked nose after a cold | Painkillers, a salt water rinse, sometimes a steroid nasal spray | Yes | If the eye swells or vision changes |
| Brief stabs lasting seconds | Reassurance, and a check for the signs that need an examination | Yes | If the stabs stay in one spot or come with other symptoms |
| Headaches on most days, taking painkillers often | Stopping the overused painkillers for at least a month, with a plan | Yes | If the headaches continue |
| Severe pain around one eye with a red, watering eye, in bouts | Urgent specialist referral; oxygen and injections are set up by specialists | Assessment | For treatment |
| Over 50 with a new headache, a tender scalp or jaw pain | Urgent blood tests, and steroids started in person | Assessment | Urgently |
| Pain on moving one eye with blurred vision | An urgent eye examination | Assessment | Urgently |
| A red, painful eye with blurred vision, or sudden loss of vision | Emergency care | No | Call 112 now |
Pain behind your eyes again, or headaches that keep coming back? A doctor can work out the cause and agree a plan in one consultation.
See available times →Treatment options for a headache behind the eyes
How to get rid of a headache behind the eyes
- Drink plenty of water, and do not skip meals.
- Take paracetamol or ibuprofen, following the dose on the pack.
- Rest your eyes: take a break from screens and close work.
- Try to relax, as stress can make headaches worse.
- For a tension headache, a warm shower or a heat pad on the neck and shoulders can help.
- For a migraine, take your painkiller or migraine medicine as soon as the headache starts, and try lying down in a darkened room.
- Avoid alcohol, and do not sleep much more than usual.
Headaches can last 30 minutes, several hours or sometimes several days. See a doctor if they keep coming back, if painkillers do not help, or if the headache is getting worse.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. For migraine, the doctor may prescribe a triptan, taken with an anti-inflammatory painkiller or paracetamol, and an anti-sickness medicine. For frequent migraines, the doctor may suggest a preventive medicine such as propranolol or amitriptyline, and for frequent tension headaches, amitriptyline. For sinusitis that is not improving, the doctor may prescribe a steroid nasal spray. Cluster headaches need treatments, such as oxygen and injections, that specialist services set up, so the doctor arranges an urgent referral. Codeine and other opioids are never prescribed online. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
What does not help
Painkillers on more than 3 days a week, which can lead to medication overuse headache. Codeine and other opioids. Hours at a screen without a break. Sleeping much more than usual.
Special situations
Pregnancy
Paracetamol is the first choice for headaches in pregnancy, and ibuprofen is not recommended. Especially after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and in the weeks after the birth, a severe headache that does not go away with simple painkillers, especially with blurred vision or flashing lights, sudden swelling of the face, hands or feet, or pain below the ribs, can be pre-eclampsia: get urgent medical help from your maternity unit.
Over 50
A new headache pattern after 50 needs a doctor, especially with jaw pain when eating, a tender scalp or vision problems, which can be giant cell arteritis.
Glasses and eye tests
Headaches that come with blurred vision when reading or at a screen can mean you need glasses, or new ones. An optician can check this. If you work at a screen, the eye strain page explains eye tests for screen workers.
Children
Mobi Doctor consultations are for adults aged 18 and over. A child who is unwell needs a paediatrician or a local doctor in person, and emergency signs in a child mean 112.
When a headache behind the eyes is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: tension headaches, migraine, eye strain, sinus headaches, ice pick headaches and medication overuse headache, with advice on screen habits, painkillers and prevention.
In-person care: cluster headaches, which need specialist treatment, pain on moving the eye with blurred vision, giant cell arteritis, an eye examination when vision is blurred, and any headache with warning signs.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 or go to an emergency department now for:
- a headache with a red, painful eye, especially with blurred vision, rainbow-coloured circles around lights, or feeling or being sick
- sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes, even if it came back
- a drooping eyelid, or one pupil smaller than the other, for the first time
- swelling or redness around an eye, or an eye that is pushed forward
- a headache that started suddenly and is extremely painful, reaching its worst within 5 minutes (a thunderclap headache)
- a headache with a very high temperature, a stiff neck, sensitivity to light, or a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it
- a headache with numbness or weakness, a drooping face, slurred speech, confusion, drowsiness or a seizure
- a headache after a head injury
Get medical advice the same day for:
- a severe headache with blurred or double vision, jaw pain when eating, or a sore scalp
- pain behind one eye that is worse when you move it, or vision in one eye that is blurred or less colourful
- a headache brought on or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercise
- a headache with vomiting
- a headache that is worse when you lie down
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: daily 7am–11pm CEST. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, and the exact price is shown before you pay.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about the pain: say whether it is behind one eye or both, what it feels like, how long it lasts, what comes with it, and how long you spend at a screen.
- Leave with a plan: what to do, what to take and for how long, and which signs mean you should be seen in person. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
No sign-up needed
A headache behind the eyes can have more than one cause. Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Cluster headaches can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about headaches behind the eyes
What causes a headache behind the eyes?
Most often a tension headache, migraine, eye strain or sinusitis. Cluster headaches, ice pick headaches and occipital neuralgia can also cause it. Intense pain in a red eye with blurred vision can be acute glaucoma, which is an emergency.
What causes a headache behind one eye?
Usually migraine, which is throbbing and often on one side, or a cluster headache, which is severe, around one eye and comes with a red, watering eye. Brief stabs are ice pick headaches. Pain on moving the eye with blurred vision needs urgent checks.
How do I get rid of a headache behind my eyes at home?
Drink water, take paracetamol or ibuprofen, rest your eyes away from screens and try to relax. For a migraine, take your painkiller or migraine medicine as soon as it starts. See a doctor if headaches keep coming back.
Can dehydration cause headaches behind the eyes?
Yes. Not drinking enough fluids is a common cause of a dull headache behind the eyes and across the forehead, often with a dry mouth, tiredness and dark urine, and it is worse after alcohol, exercise, hot weather or skipped meals; drinking plenty of water, eating regular meals and avoiding alcohol usually clears it within a few hours. A headache behind the eyes that persists despite fluids has another cause.
Can eye strain cause a headache behind the eyes?
Yes. Long spells at a screen, reading or driving can cause sore, tired eyes and headaches. The 20-20-20 rule and an eye test help, and eye strain has no lasting effects on the eyes.
How can I prevent headaches behind the eyes?
Take a 20-second screen break every 20 minutes to look 6 metres away, have your eyes tested every 2 years and wear the prescription, position screens an arm’s length away with the top at eye level, keep lighting even, drink enough water and eat regular meals, limit alcohol and caffeine, keep a regular sleep pattern, manage stress and neck tension with stretches, treat hay fever and sinus problems, and keep a headache diary to spot triggers. Most headaches behind the eyes are preventable this way.
Why does it hurt behind my eye when I move it?
Sinusitis, eye strain or dry eyes can make the eyes ache. Pain on moving one eye with blurred or faded vision can be optic neuritis, which needs urgent assessment by an eye specialist.
What are ice pick headaches?
Sudden, sharp stabs of pain lasting a few seconds, often around the eyes and temples, and more common in people with migraine. They are not usually dangerous and do not normally need treatment.
What does a pre-stroke headache feel like?
A stroke can cause a severe headache, but look for the main signs: a face that has dropped on one side, a weak arm, slurred speech, or sudden blurred vision or loss of sight. Call 112 straight away, even if they stop.
Is a headache behind the eyes a sign of something serious?
Usually not: most headaches go away on their own. Call 112 for a red, painful eye with blurred vision, sudden loss of vision, a sudden, severe headache, or a headache with weakness, confusion, a stiff neck or a rash.
Can sinusitis cause pain behind the eyes?
Yes. Sinusitis causes pain and tenderness around the cheeks, eyes or forehead, usually after a cold, with a blocked nose and coloured mucus. Many ‘sinus headaches’ turn out to be migraine.
How long does a headache behind the eyes last?
Headaches can last 30 minutes, several hours or sometimes several days. A migraine attack usually lasts 4 hours to 3 days, and a cluster headache 15 to 180 minutes.
Can an online doctor treat a headache behind the eyes?
Yes, usually. A doctor can tell tension headaches, migraine, eye strain and sinus pain apart by video and treat them. A red, painful eye, vision changes or a drooping eyelid need emergency care.
- Headaches, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 17 April 2024.
- Tension headaches, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 1 August 2025.
- Migraine, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 10 March 2026.
- Cluster headaches, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 18 August 2023.
- Glaucoma, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 13 June 2025.
- Stroke: symptoms, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 12 September 2024.
- Pre-eclampsia, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 23 March 2026.
- Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management (CG150), NICE, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2012, updated 2021.
- Sinusitis (acute): antimicrobial prescribing (NG79), NICE, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2017.
- 4.7 Primary stabbing headache, International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD-3), International Headache Society, 2018.
- Ice pick headache, Cleveland Clinic (US), updated 13 August 2024.
- Eyestrain: symptoms and causes, Mayo Clinic (US), 2 July 2024.
- Computer vision syndrome, American Optometric Association (US), accessed 15 October 2026.
- Optic neuritis: symptoms and causes, Mayo Clinic (US), 29 September 2021.
- Headache behind the eyes, WebMD (US), medically reviewed 30 May 2026.
- Tension headache, MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, updated 27 October 2025.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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