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Someone holding their forehead with a pillow behind them: Eyebrow headache causes
Health Education

What causes eyebrow headaches? Related conditions and treatments

Finding the cause of a headache in your eyebrow can help you determine the quickest way to find relief
Karen Berger medical writer and reviewer headshot
By | Dec. 26, 2023

Have you ever felt pain specifically around or behind one or both eyebrows? Eyebrow pain can be associated with various conditions, such as inflamed sinuses or migraine, among others. Eyebrow headaches due to sinus infections may be temporary, while eyebrow headaches caused by an underlying medical condition may recur. This article will discuss various causes of eyebrow pain, as well as treatment options.

What causes eyebrow headaches?

There are several possible conditions that may cause eyebrow headaches, such as sinusitis, migraine, glaucoma, and more. We’ll go through eight possible causes below.

Sinusitis

Sinusitis, or sinus infection, occurs when the lining of the tissues of the sinuses becomes inflamed due to a viral, bacterial, or fungal infection or a type of inflammatory reaction. 

Acute sinusitis is usually caused by bacteria and lasts for about one month or less. Symptoms often occur after a cold and may include:

  • Sinus pain and pressure behind the eyes
  • Tooth pain
  • Facial tenderness
  • Headache
  • Stuffy nose
  • Sore throat
  • Postnasal drip (mucus dripping down the back of the throat)
  • Fatigue
  • Feeling unwell
  • Bad breath
  • Loss of smell
  • Cough 
  • Fever 

Chronic sinusitis lasts longer than three months and can be caused by bacteria or fungus. Symptoms are similar to those of acute sinusitis but are milder and longer lasting. 

The treatment plan may include a combination of the following medicines:

You can also try home remedies (in addition to any prescribed medication), such as drinking plenty of fluids, using a cool mist humidifier, and flushing the sinuses with a Neti pot. 

People with chronic sinusitis or fungal sinus infections may need surgery. 

Migraine

Migraine is very common, affecting over 37 million people in the United States. 

It’s more than just a severe headache—it can involve many symptoms, including:

  • Intense throbbing, pounding, or pulsating head pain, which may occur on one side of the head or both (or the front or back)
  • Pain around the eyes and behind the cheeks
  • Pain that worsens with movement
  • Nausea 
  • Vomiting 
  • Sensitivity to light, smells, or noise
  • Symptoms interfere with work or school
  • Pain that lasts from four hours to several days

Some individuals have migraine with aura, which often includes visual symptoms like flashes of light or bright spots, blurred vision, or vision loss. Generally, aura comes on before the head pain and goes away in less than an hour.

Treatment of migraine depends on various factors, such as the type and severity of symptoms, frequency of migraine attacks, and other medical conditions the individual has. 

For acute treatment to stop a migraine attack, options may include:

If you have frequent migraine attacks that interfere with your quality of life, your healthcare provider may prescribe a preventive treatment, such as a beta-blocker like Inderal (propranolol), or an injectable medication such as Aimovig (erenumab). 

There are nonmedicinal methods that can also help with migraine, including stress management and trigger avoidance, which keeping a headache diary can aid with. Biofeedback can also help with migraine. 

Cluster headache

Cluster headaches, which are often confused with other types of headaches, are not very common. These types of headaches occur in clusters, happening every day or almost every day (for up to three hours each time) for weeks or even months. These headaches generally happen at the same time of day. They often occur a few hours after you fall asleep but can also occur when you are awake. Cluster headache attacks are separated by pain-free times lasting at least one month. 

Symptoms may include:

  • Burning, sharp, stabbing, or steady pain
  • Pain often on one side of the face and often involving the eye
  • Tearing of the eyes
  • Swelling around or under one or both eye(s)
  • Red eye 
  • Droopy eyelid
  • Runny nose or stuffy nose
  • Red, flushed face
  • Excessive sweating 

Treatment of cluster headaches (when they occur) may include:

Your healthcare provider may also recommend avoiding smoking and alcohol, certain foods, and other triggers—as well as keeping a headache diary. They may also prescribe medication to prevent cluster headaches.

Tension headache

A tension headache, or tension-type headache, is a common type of headache—more than 70% of people experience these occasionally. Causes include neck or eye strain, sleep apnea, anxiety, depression, temporomandibular jaw disorder (TMJ), and others.

Symptoms may start slowly, lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to a week, and may include:

  • Feeling like a tight band is wrapped around the head, placing pressure on the forehead and temple (the temples are the sides of the head behind the eye, between the forehead and ears), above the eyebrow
  • Feeling like the sides of the head are being squeezed together
  • Tight neck and shoulders
  • Sensitivity to light and sound

Your healthcare provider may recommend OTC pain medicines such as Tylenol or Motrin (ibuprofen) for occasional tension headaches. If you have chronic tension headaches, your healthcare provider may recommend preventive treatment:

Prevention may also include stress management, such as exercising regularly, getting enough rest, and massage therapy.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that lead to optic nerve damage, which progresses to vision loss. 

The most common form of glaucoma is called primary open-angle glaucoma. With this type of glaucoma, there is increased fluid pressure in the eye, which can damage the optic nerve over time and may progress to vision loss or blindness. Primary open-angle glaucoma usually develops slowly, and most of the time, there are no symptoms. In fact, many people do not know they have glaucoma until there is a significant loss of vision. 

However, there is another type of glaucoma called acute angle-closure glaucoma, which is a medical emergency. It occurs abruptly and is caused by a rapid increase of pressure in the eye. This type of glaucoma does have symptoms, including:

  • Severe pain in the eye
  • Eye redness
  • Nausea
  • Seeing halos or colored rings around lights
  • Blurred vision

Acute angle-closure glaucoma is an emergency, and severe vision loss can happen quickly. If you have any of these symptoms, you should immediately see your eye healthcare provider. 

All individuals at risk of glaucoma should have regular eye exams. Your healthcare provider can tell you how often you should have an exam. 

Treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma includes prescription eye drops—some people require multiple types of eye drops. In some cases, surgery, laser treatment, or drainage implants may be needed.

For acute angle-closure glaucoma, medication may be used to quickly reduce eye pressure. A laser peripheral iridotomy is a laser procedure that may also be required to help drain the fluid.

Shingles

Shingles, or herpes zoster, is caused by a reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV). VZV is the same virus that causes varicella, or chickenpox. It may occur in people over the age of 50 or people of any age with a compromised immune system. 

Shingles causes a painful rash with blisters. It can also affect the eyes, causing symptoms such as:

  • A rash on the eyelids
  • Pain, swelling, and redness in the eye
  • Swelling of the optic nerve behind the eye (this is called optic neuritis)
  • Pink eye (redness, burning, and oozing in the eyes) 
  • Blurry vision
  • Sensitivity to bright light
  • A breakdown of the surface of the cornea

When shingles affects the eyes, you are at higher risk for problems such as dry eyes, infection, glaucoma, and cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye).

Treatment for shingles may include oral antiviral medication as well as comfort measures like a moist, cold compress over the eyes. If shingles leads to any other problems, those problems may need treatment. 

You can also get a vaccine called Shingrix to help reduce the risk of shingles infection if you are 50  or older—or if you are 19 or older with a higher risk of infection.

Giant cell arteritis (temporal arteritis)

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), also called temporal arteritis, is an inflammatory condition that affects large blood vessels of the scalp, neck, and arms. Caucasian women ages 50 and older (usually between 70 and 80 years old) are at higher risk of developing GCA. 

Early GCA symptoms such as appetite loss, fever, and fatigue may feel like the flu. Symptoms related to the head include:

  • Severe headache
  • Tender scalp or temples
  • Double vision
  • Vision loss (feeling like a curtain is pulled over part of the eye)
  • Dizziness
  • Jaw pain while eating or talking
  • Sore throat
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Occasional chest pain

High doses of steroids are usually given to lower the chance of blindness. Steroids may be needed for months or even years to keep the inflammation at bay. Sometimes, other immunosuppressant drugs are required, such as methotrexate.

Trigeminal neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a chronic pain condition that involves sudden and severe facial pain. It is also known as tic douloureux. TN affects the trigeminal nerve (fifth cranial nerve), which is associated with feeling and nerve signaling to the head and face. TN is a type of nerve pain that is often caused by a nerve injury or lesion. Although TN is more common in women ages 50 and older, it can occur in anyone at any age.

Symptoms may include:

  • Sudden intense pain, generally on one side of the face
  • Numbness or tingling
  • Pain attacks may occur regularly, several times a day, for days to weeks—or even longer

Treatment may include:

Most importantly, eyebrow pain is often treatable—see your healthcare provider for a diagnosis

Eyebrow pain can be caused by a variety of conditions, including sinus infections, different types of headaches, and glaucoma. The cause of eyebrow pain may resolve on its own without treatment—for example, if you have a headache. However, if eyebrow pain continues, worsens, or is severe, it could be a sign of various conditions that require treatment. Only your healthcare provider can rule out infection or other serious health conditions. Visit your doctor to determine the best treatment for eyebrow pain.

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