Ocular pain secondary to occipital neuritis

Sixteen patients whose chief complaint was ocular or periocular pain were diagnosed as having occipital neuritis. All but one had significant relief of pain from one or more injections of an anesthetic in the vicinity of the greater occipital nerve. They were subsequently treated with anti-inflammatory measures. From these cases definitions of significant tenderness and success of treatment were developed. These observations form a basis for a current double-blind study designed to establish a relationship between ocular pain and occipital neuritis.