Ingrid has been complaining about headaches for some while. I’ve been putting it down to stress and noise at school, because she often says the class is loud and she is anxious about the grades she will be getting, and all the homework she needs to do.

Her anxiety and stress levels seem to have gone down, but the headaches are getting worse, not better, especially after reading or doing other small fiddly activities. It finally struck me that the headaches might be due to vision problems after all. She sees very well both near and far, so I’d discarded that possibility until now. But of course near- or farsightedness are not the only kind of vision problems one can have.

Today she had a thorough eye exam, and while her vision is really sharp, it turns out she has a squint. One of her eyes struggles to point in the right direction at close distances, so she is straining her eye muscles all the time while reading, drawing etc. No wonder she has a headache.

Now we’re waiting for an appointment with a specialist, but in the meantime she got reading glasses that will help the eyes relax.