Subacute angle-closure glaucoma as a cause of headache in the presence of a white eye.

Three patients, initially diagnosed with headache syndromes, were subsequently found to have subacute angle-closure glaucoma. In each case, the eye appeared grossly normal and there were no visual symptoms. A comprehensive ophthalmologic examination, including gonioscopy, confirmed the diagnosis. Laser iridotomy was curative with complete resolution of head and face pain. Subacute angle-closure glaucoma is an exception to the maxim that a white eye is not the cause of a painful eye.