What Glasses Are Good For Migraines?


In this article, you will learn which glasses can be beneficial for migraines. There are special filters available and there are certain conditions that could migraines even worse. So make sure to read the whole article to get the whole picture.

In general glasses for migraines are beneficial when binocular vision is corrected and sensitivity for light is reduced. Therefore the refractive error of the eye needs to be tested by your eye care professional. In addition to the lens power, special filters can be added like the FL-41. Those rose-colored filters are designed to help those with light sensitivity due to migraines.

The glasses developed for migraines have a slight tint to them which can be worn indoors. As studies show those special filters help with migraines and blepharospasm occurring less frequently and with less intensity. 71% of patients with blepharospasm reported the greatest relief of photophobia with the FL-41 lenses.

Compared to normal sunglasses that block up to 85% of the light migraine glasses with the FL 41 filter block only 50% of the light. It is not recommended to wear sunglasses indoors for an extended time to counter light sensitivity. because your eyes could get even more sensitive to bright light this way. However, those special glasses are designed for indoor use and do not make the environment in the room too dark. Good glasses for migraines are made by:

The different manufacturers have slightly different tints to work best for migraines. Some of them are tinted in a more dominant pink or even red tone while for example, Avulux lenses have minimal color distortion which comes with a less dominant tint.

Which Glasses for Migraines To Choose?

It is important to look through the lenses individually. While a lot of people will benefit from the mentioned glasses of the manufacturers. There will be definitely some individuals that do not like the filtres. This is why you should talk to your local optician and test those filters out.

For example, out of my experience with the FL-41 filter, I can say a lot of wearers are hesitant when they see the pink color. But when they have the effect of migraines showing up less frequently they are definitely willing to wear them. Some of my customers use them occasionally when they feel slight headaches and others like to wear them all the time to have less eye strain when working indoors with their computer or just due to the light surrounding them.

There are versions available with a darker tint for outdoor use and those mentioned for indoor use. The important thing for you to ask before buying them is if you have a money-back guarantee. In my opinion, as an optician, you should not be charged if those glasses have no effect on you. So before buying them make sure you have a money-back guarantee for at least 30 days so you can see if the ordered filter is actually the right one.

A lot of the glasses for migraines are also available with prescription lenses. If you have hyperopia, astigmatism, or myopia the correct lens power should be ordered in combination with the special filters. Otherwise, you will not have full relief with those glasses.

In certain situations, prescription lenses could even make your migraines worse. In the following part of the article, you will learn more about this.

Do Glasses Make Migraines Worse?

In general, it is recommended to correct a refractive error first before trying out different filters to combat migraines. This ensures both eyes can play together in the best possible way. This means both eyes see clearly and when the eyes look at a distance they are relaxed.

However, when the prescription is higher in one eye compared to the other this state is only true when the person wearing the glasses is looking through one spot of the glasses. This is called the optical center. Looking through this spot will not deviate from the image you see in both eyes.

However in reality you do not use just one spot. When you read you look down and in order to be able to check the traffic lights, you need to lookup. When you perform those eye movements behind the glasses with a different lens power in the right and left eye the image will move differently for each eye. Your eyes can compensate for those side effects by performing by increasing muscle tension in the muscles surrounding your eyes.

But especially when your eyes are very sensitive this could lead to migraines. One way to avoid this would be contact lenses. Because with them the mentioned side effect is eliminated. Unfortunately, a lot of people have imbalances in the eye muscles that are often not corrected by glasses. This means technically during the measurements for your glasses each eye gets tested at a time. After the refraction was made for the second eye the test is over and the prescription is done.

But actually, the refraction is not done. Because it should be tested in addition to how well the eyes play together. Let’s look at a simple example. A person has low hyperopia. With this refractive error, the eyes need to strain a little and then the picture gets back clear. When each eye gets tested the case looks easy. With this information, the optician makes new glasses and the person tries the glasses on. He can see clearly but the glasses can not be worn. Why?

In addition to the hyperopia, the person’s eyes are slightly rotated outward. By compensating the hyperopia simultaneously both eyes rotate inward slightly and the eyes can play together nicely. With the lenses correcting the only hyperopia the eyes can not rotate inward.

Because this rotational eye movement only occurred with the eye strain which compensated for hyperopia. But the glasses corrected this part. So instead of just looking at each eye at a time not only hyperopia should be corrected but the slightly outwards rotation of the eyes which is done with a prismatic correction.

As you can see in the example I gave you it is important to work with an eye care professional that goes through all the measurements carefully. This is not done in a five-minute eye test. So especially with migraines look for a professional with experience in this field. Otherwise, you might end up with glasses not working for you.

Here in the picture above, I am wearing the glasses for migraines with the FL-41 filter. When I look at the glasses in the picture they appear darker as they actually are. Working with them makes it easier on the eyes and I do not feel distracted by the tint. When I look at the screen the pink color appears a lot more subtle than how it looks in this picture.

I wish you a great day.

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