What is an optical migraine?
For many of us headaches are normal occurrences during the span of our lives. We experience headaches that come and go and are often so severe that our daily routines are affected. And for some of us these headaches are a step beyond the 'normality' of headaches, when they occur with some form of visual changes. If that is the case then you are most likely suffering from a migraine.
A typical migraine is:
- A recurrent type of headache
- It is severely painful
- Usually occurs only on one side of the head
- An aura occurs right before one of these attacks
As opposed to a regular migraine, an optical migraine also involves an aura that comes before a migraine attack and normally without pain. The visual disturbances that are experienced are flashing lights that look like zigzag or lightning bolts. Attacks like these last for several minutes to almost an hour. If it comes with a headache, then the pain will follow shortly after the visual aura is diminished. An optical migraine can also be experienced as a blind spot in the field of vision.
