54: Headaches – Causes and clinical management

It’s thought that over half of the world’s population experience a headache disorder, and almost all of us have experienced the symptoms at some point in our lives. Headaches can be caused by many different factors — both visual and non-visual — and their severity can vary massively. When optometrists are examining patients, it’s not always clear how concerned to be or what to do next. After all, headaches could be a sign of an underlying health problem, from hypertension to brain tumours.

In this episode, Michelle Hanratty is joined by Hilary Hodgson and Dr Nav Chana, who together advised a new six-part course about headaches available on the Docet website. Hilary, an optometrist, begins by explaining what to look out for in eye examinations. Dr Chana, a GP, goes on to discuss when to refer on patients and how primary care practitioners can work together to understand the causes of headaches in a timely manner.

You can enrol onto Docet’s headaches CPD course here.

GOC-registered optometrists practising in England, Wales or Northern Ireland can gain 1 CPD point by listening to this podcast and completing the exercise on our website. This episode covers the GOC domain of Clinical Practice and Communication. Docet - dedicated to providing quality optometric education and professional development.