What is an Ocular Migraine?
NOTE: this article is being rewritten to provide more accurate information.
Most people know what a migraine is but what is an ocular migraine? It is a migraine that may or may not cause pain but it does cause visual disruptions. These migraines are thought to be caused by changes in the blood flow to the brain. The technical name for these conditions is opthalmalic migraines but most people just call them ocular migraine for short. Migraines of any type are thought to be trigger by certain foods like chocolate, excessive caffeine consumption, MSG in Chinese food, etc.. They can also be caused by flashing lights or even hormonal changes. Most people who suffer from migraines on a regular basis will notice warning signs that an attack is coming on, but ocular migraines can have a sudden onset.
Ocular migraine sufferers can have a number of different visual changes during the attack. Typically, the person will experience a blind spot in the middle of the eye that may have flashing lights inside it or may have colored zig zag lines running through it. This blind spot may get larger and completely block vision in one eye. The condition can last for a few minutes up to 20 to 30 minutes. It is a good idea to record all the visual disruption experiences as to specifically what you saw and how long it lasted. You physician may be able to help you pin point what triggers the attacks so that you can try to avoid them. It what you experience changes in a major way, you should seek medical advice. Otherwise just be aware of the symptoms of an onset of a problem.
Most eye doctors or general physicians can do little to help this condition because it is not completely understood. No one knows what actually causes it. The visual symptoms related to the ocular migraine are not directly related to the eye but instead are related to activity in the visual cortex in the back of the brain. If you begin to experience an ocular migraine take safety steps immediately. Since this condition can completely block your vision, if you are driving or doing any other activity that requires complete vision, stop what you are doing. The condition usually only lasts for a little while. After your vision returns completely, you can return to what you were doing.
If you begin to experience these migraines on a more frequent basis or if they begin to interfere with your daily functioning, you should see your doctor to see if there is a medication you can take to reduce the frequency of the problem. Some people have reported that taking vitamin B12 has helped reduce the incidence of the ocular migraine. This has not been proven in medical trials but it is worth a try to see if this helps you control the frequency of occurrence.
Filed Under Different Types of Migraines, Ocular Migraines | 10 Comments
Tagged With Migraine Treatment, migraine types, Occular Migraines, Ocular Migraines, types of migraines, what is an occular migraine?, what is an ocular migraine?
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10 Responses to “What is an Ocular Migraine?”
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It’s great to see people writing about Migraine, but in this case, the article may solve more confusion than it dispels.
One of the most important things is to get an accurate diagnosis. To simplify matters and make it easier for people to get information and treatment, doctors usually go by the gold standard for diagnosis, the International Headache Society’s International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition (ICHD-II). Under ICHD-II, there is no diagnosis of “optical Migraine.” We do see it used, but doctors use it differently, so it really doesn’t tell anyone what type of Migraine you actually have. You can read more about this in Ocular, Optical, and Opthalmic Migraines (http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/types-of-headaches-38950-5.html) and The Type of Migraine Does Matter (http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/types-of-headaches-282018-5.html).
Most so-called ocular Migraines, when correctly diagnosed, turn out to be Migraine with aura or retinal Migraine, but some turn out to be hemiplegic, basilar-type, or another form of Migraine.
It is totally incorrect to say there is no treatment for these Migraines. There certainly is!
I experienced an ocular migraine on 1/16/10.
I was watching a movie with my wife called (NO JOKE)
Blindness! The premise of the movie was people were going blind but instead of seeing black, they would see white. During the movie the visual effects were that the screen would go completely white, a very bright white. Half way through the movie I experienced bright wavy arcs in the left half of both eyes. This lasted about 5 minutes, then went away. No headache.
After reading several blogs about brightness followed by an episode, I feel certain this is what triggered mine.
Gary:
Thanks for sharing!
Teri:
Thanks for the clarifications. We have updated the article accordingly.
You’re welcome, but I think you missed my main point. The term “ocular Migraine” is used by different people to mean different things. Thus, it is quite confusing. In the gold standard of the International Headache Society’s diagnostic and classification system, there in no such diagnosis.
Allow me to share this with you…
Types of Migraine: from the International Headache Society’s International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition
1.1 Migraine without aura
1.2 Migraine with aura
1.2.1 Typical aura with migraine headache
1.2.2 Typical aura with non-migraine headache
1.2.3 Typical aura without headache
1.2.4 Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM)
1.2.5 Sporadic hemiplegic migraine
1.2.6 Basilar-type migraine
1.3 Childhood periodic syndromes that are commonly precursors of migraine
1.3.1 Cyclical vomiting
1.3.2 Abdominal migraine
1.3.3 Benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood
1.4 Retinal migraine
1.5 Complications of migraine
1.5.1 Chronic migraine
1.5.2 Status migrainosus
1.5.3 Persistent aura without infarction
1.5.4 Migrainous infarction
1.5.5 Migraine-triggered seizures
1.6 Probable migraine
1.6.1 Probable migraine without aura
1.6.2 Probable migraine with aura
1.6.5 Probable chronic migraine
You should really learn before you write about Migraines. Take a look at http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/202/101778/ocular-migraine/.
What I very very occasionally would get would be migraine aura without the headache, or at least with a very little one on the opposite side of where I saw the flashing lights. The first time it happened I had witnessed a classmate have an epileptic fit in sixth grade. I also felt ill for a week. The next time it happened was when I was in my early thirties! I first thought I had looked at the sun and then thought I was going blind. It was a horrible feeling. I will be 61 tomorrow and since I have been on beta blockers I haven’t had another one at all.
You know what’s really sad? Teri Robert tried to tell you that this article had big problems a full 10 days before Nancy wrote her blog about it. Well, now I’ve blogged too, http://migrainetruth.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/migraine-symptoms-guide-oh-my/
Arabella:
I didn’t see Teri’s first comment until several days after it was posted (while on the road). At that point I responded and made a small change to the article. It wasn’t until 2 days later that I saw the second comment and realized that I needed to revise the article. However, I wasn’t at a place where I could do that.
When I got back in town I saw Nancy’s article. I responded to her article and if you’ll notice I stated that because of her article AND comments by others it was clear that the article needed to be rewritten.
Please understand that I wasn’t ignoring Teri’s comments. I get the impression you think I should have immediately changed the article “a full 10 days ago”. In an ideal situation that might have happened but sometimes emergencies occur and priorities shift.
I hope to get a revised article up soon.
Thanks for your reply. It just seems to me that an article that has such a basic flaw as discussing a diagnosis that it totally off-base would be pulled until the revisions could be done.
This opinion isn’t being any harder on you than anyone else posting articles. Misinformation is very confusing, and it certainly does nothing to rid people about their misconceptions about Migraine disease or other headache disorders.
Do I expect a lot? Sure. If you’re going to write a site or blog that says it’s “Information on migraine causes, symptoms, and treatments,” I expect the person doing the writing to get do their research via current and reliable sources so it’s correct.
I do commend you, however, for the changes you’ve made here today.
Best,
Arabella