High eye pressure often feels like a dull ache, fullness, or strain in or around the eyes, sometimes with headaches, but it's often subtle and unnoticed until vision changes occur, like seeing halos, blurred vision, redness, or, in severe, sudden cases (angle-closure glaucoma), intense pain, nausea, and vomiting, requiring immediate care.
What does high eye pressure feel like? High eye pressure, also known as ocular hypertension, often doesn't cause noticeable symptoms. However, some individuals may experience symptoms such as mild eye discomfort, headaches, or changes in vision.
The symptoms to watch for are the sudden onset or worsening of:
It might not seem obvious, but nausea and vomiting can sometimes signal a serious eye condition called acute angle-closure glaucoma. This condition is an ocular emergency, and when these symptoms appear alongside eye pain, blurred vision, or headaches, they often point to a sudden and dangerous rise in eye pressure.
But ultimately, high blood pressure can result in hypertensive retinopathy, blood vessel damage causing blurred vision or loss of sight; choroidopathy, a buildup of fluid under the retina that can distort or impair vision; or optic neuropathy, a blood flow blockage that can kill nerve cells and cause vision loss.
Symptoms
A transient ischemic attack (TIA), often called a mini-stroke, occurs when blood flow to the brain is temporarily blocked. If a TIA affects areas responsible for vision — such as the eyes or the visual processing centers in the brain — it can cause sudden vision loss, double vision, or blurry vision.
High eye pressure doesn't always present obvious symptoms, but there are signs to watch out for, including: Eye pain. Headaches. A feeling of fullness behind one or both eyes.
Ocular migraine isn't a mini-stroke. They're distinct conditions.
The 10-10-10 rule for eyes is a simple strategy to combat digital eye strain: every 10 minutes, take a 10-second break and look at something at least 10 feet away, giving your eyes a rest from near-focus on screens. This practice helps prevent eye fatigue, dryness, and headaches by allowing eye muscles to relax and encouraging blinking, which is often reduced during screen use, says Healthline and Brinton Vision.
Increased eye pressure causes discomfort that can lead to nausea and vomiting. Sometimes, the pressure can be very high that you may start experiencing symptoms such as dizziness and headaches. You can also faint due to the increased pressure.
The time of day typically has an effect, and it is usually the highest during overnight hours. However, it never fluctuates more than 2-3 points in normal, healthy eyes. Patients with glaucoma may experience larger variation in eye pressure throughout the day.
Ocular hypertension can cause glaucoma. Glaucoma happens when high IOP damages the optic nerve. These nerves in both eyes connect directly to your brain and transmit electrical signals that your brain turns into images. If you have glaucoma that's not treated, you can lose your vision.
While glaucoma may not initially cause noticeable vision loss, the extra pressure inside the eye can contribute to fatigue and strain, especially when focusing on close-up tasks.
Other signs and symptoms may include:
See a healthcare professional right away if you have visual symptoms that haven't been looked at before, such as: Visual changes in only one eye. Visual changes that last less than five minutes or more than 60 minutes. Visual changes without a headache.
The "5 Cs of Migraine" typically refer to common dietary triggers: Cheese, Chocolate, Coffee, Cola (soda), and Citrus fruits, though evidence suggests cravings might cause them, not the other way around. Another set of 5 Cs describes migraine symptoms: Crescendo (building pain), Crushing (severe), Cranial (head-focused), Consistent (long-lasting), and Cyclical (repeating patterns). A third interpretation focuses on management: Caffeine, Cold, Comfort, Calm, and Control.
A sudden loss of peripheral vision: This may suggest damage to the optic nerve, often linked to high eye pressure. Seeing halos or rainbows around lights: A common symptom of glaucoma, especially if accompanied by cloudy vision. Frequent headaches: Pressure buildup in the eyes can sometimes cause recurring headaches.
Certain inflammatory eye diseases (like optic neuritis), retinal diseases, or past injuries can also affect the optic nerve's appearance or visual field test results, making them appear similar to glaucoma.
Through a comprehensive eye exam, your eye doctor can help you determine if your dizziness is vision-related. During an exam, your optometrist can check your visual skills and eye alignment, and recommend vision therapy or other corrective measures if they could be beneficial for you.
Most people with an eye stroke notice a loss of vision in one eye upon waking in the morning with no pain. Some people notice a dark area or shadow in their vision that affects the upper or lower half of their visual field. Other symptoms include loss of visual contrast and light sensitivity.
These symptoms include blurred or double vision, a droopy eyelid, a dilated pupil, pain above or behind one eye, weakness or numbness, he said. “If you experience these symptoms, contact your primary care provider quickly, and you can be screened using a brain scan,” Bradbury said.
The exact cause of ocular migraines isn't fully understood, but many researchers believe they're related to changes in blood flow to the eye or visual cortex in the brain. Certain triggers can increase the likelihood of an episode, including: Stress or anxiety. Bright or flickering lights.
A hypertension headache is a headache that happens when your blood pressure becomes very high. People often describe it as a strong, throbbing pain on both sides of the head. This usually occurs when your blood pressure is 180/120 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or higher.
"Stroke level" blood pressure is a hypertensive crisis, defined as a reading of 180/120 mmHg or higher, which is a medical emergency requiring immediate help (call 911 or emergency services) as it significantly increases the risk of a stroke, heart attack, or other life-threatening conditions, especially if accompanied by symptoms like severe headache, shortness of breath, or vision changes.