What Is An Ocular Migraine?

An Ocular Migraine is a visual disturbance that can occur with or without a severe headache and is technically known as an ophthalmic migraine. Ocular migraines can occur at any time and these ocular migraines are thought to be related to changes in the blow flow in the brain.

Migraines can be brought on by changes in the body’s neurological responses and can be triggered by hormonal changes, chemical in foods, flashing lights, or medications.

The result is usually an intense headache that can last for hours or even days. During this process changes can also occur in the blood flow to the part of the brain that is responsible for vision. The result of this is ocular migraines. The most common ocular migraine symptom is vision disturbance and a severe headache.

Recognizing An Ocular Migraine Symptom

There are a variety of different visual symptoms that can relate to ocular migraines. The most common symptoms of ocular migraines are seeing a small, enlarging blind spot in your central vision that has bright flickering lights or a zig zag line inside the blind spot. With ocular migraines the entire blind spot will usually enlarge and can move across your line of vision. Ocular migraines can last as long as 20 to 30 minutes.

Ocular migraines are considered to be harmless and in most cases ocular migraines are painless and cause not permanent visual damage. There is no specific ocular migraine treatment but it is recommended that you consult your eye doctor if you have any unusual vision symptoms. You may have a different vision condition such as a detached retina which will need treatment.

What To Do When Ocular Migraines Occur

Ocular migraines are poorly understood and this is mainly due to the fact that the vision symptoms that accompany painless ocular migraines are not related directly to the eyes. Visual symptoms that occur with ocular migraines are in fact a result of the migraine activity in the visual cortex of the brain.

During ocular migraines vision is significantly compromised during the attack. If you need sharp vision for your safety, if you are driving for example, you should pull over and stop until your ocular migraines pass. It is also advised that you should remain still until your ocular migraines resolve.

If you suffer from ocular migraines a visit to your eye doctor may produce very few answers especially in relation to how to treat or prevent ocular migraines. If however, you are having ocular migraines on a regular basis or your ocular migraines are increasing in frequency you may be given medications that will help to reduce the frequency and severity of these ocular migraines.

Ocular migraines may not be harmful but if you suffer from ocular migraines it is best to have them checked for any underlying vision problem.

 
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