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Seeing Auras: Ocular Migraines
Eighty percent of people with migraines get disabling headaches out of the blue. The other 20%, however,
experience sensations, usually visual, that warn them that a migraine is on the way. These symptoms are
called an ‘aura.' Typical experiences of visual auras include flickering or flashing lights and shapes...
Ocular Migraines 101
Visual disturbances with migraine headaches are common. Auras preceding or occurring at the same time as migraine headaches can include visual symptoms that include flashes of light, blind or shimmering spots, or zigzag patterns in your field of vision. However, some people experience these visual disturbances without the pain of a migraine headache. The correct medical terminology for these is “ophthalmic" migraines, but they're also called eye, visual, or ocular migraines.
The Symptoms of Ocular Migraines and What to Do About Them
Unfortunately, visual disturbances and migraine headaches often go hand-in-hand. Two in 10 migraine sufferers experience visual sensations warning them of an impending migraine. These symptoms are called an ‘aura' and include flickering or flashing lights and shapes that appear in your visual field and move or expand to cause partial loss of vision. These symptoms typically fade as the pain of migraine builds.
Triggers for Ocular Migraines
One of the best ways of avoiding ocular migraines-- and all migraines, for that matter-- is to identify and avoid triggers that produce visual disturbances and the pain that sometimes accompanies them. Among all people with migraines, 85% can identify triggers.
Identify and Treat Ocular Migraines
While many people suffer from traditional migraine headaches, it is not uncommon for others to suffer from a different type of migraine. Traditional migraines are characterized by sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound, powerful head pains and nausea. Another type of migraine is harder to diagnose because the symptoms characteristic of a traditional migraine are either not present or less severe.
Painless Headaches
Imagine discovering that you were suffering from a headache, though you were not experiencing any headache pain? Sometimes, people who are experience odd unexplained symptoms are found to be afflicted with what is often called a silent migraine. Silent migraines are known by other names such as migraine auras without headache, ocular migraines or painless migraines.
The Migraine Aura - Tricks From The Brain
Migraine headaches generally come in two forms: With and without auras. The headaches themselves can be equally painful – whether or not an aura is present. Statistics indicate that only about 20% of migraine sufferers actually experience these auras. However, I’ve actually observed that the prevalence of aura type migraines is substantially less than that.
Essential Points You Need to Know About Migraine
Migraine is one of the most common excuse people use when they can’t attend a meeting or miss a class for students. In fact, it is an overused excuse next to insomniac. But this kind of headache is not a joke. It is necessary to find out the essential information about migraine so that when the time comes that the excuse becomes true you will not freak out of what you are feeling.
How Do I Know If I Have an Ocular Migraine?
To many people, a migraine headache is a migraine headache. They assume, falsely, that all migraines are pretty much the same. So when one of the 15% of our population that suffers from migraine says they have an ocular migraine, non-sufferers may raise a skeptical eyebrow. The truth is, however, that there are many different kinds of migraine.
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