An ocular migraine causes vision loss or blindness in one or both eyes. Symptoms may last less than an hour and occur before or during migraine headaches. During an ocular migraine, some patients might experience aura, which can cause flashing lights or blind spots. An aura migraine often occurs in both eyes.
If you experience an aura migraine, talk to your doctor immediately. They might rule out other conditions before diagnosing you with ocular migraine. Be sure to describe your symptoms thoroughly and explore all options. Depending on the type of ocular migraine, you may have a severe health problem.
“Ocular migraine” can refer to two different conditions
Ocular migraine can refer to migraine with aura or retinal migraine. Many patients unfamiliar with the difference between each condition might find the term ocular migraine confusing. That’s why most doctors and headache specialists no longer use this phrase.
Experiencing aura with migraine is fairly typical, as many people with migraines experience flashing lights or temporary blurs in vision. However, retinal migraine is more severe and could indicate something serious that requires treatment.
Retinal migraines are rare. In most cases, vision changes do not signal a retinal migraine.
How does migraine affect your vision?
Migraine with aura and retinal migraine affect your vision differently. You might experience an aura when the brain’s wave of activity affects other parts of the brain, such as the sensory or language centers. Depending on the location of the wave, you might experience a different type of aura than other migraine patients. The most common aura is visual — many with consistent migraine experience this condition during an episode.
When brain waves affect other brain areas, some patients might experience a sensory or motor aura, in which the tongue, arms or face may tingle. Rarely, people have dysphasic aura, characterized by a slowing or slurring of speech. Aura may last anywhere from five minutes to more than an hour and often pairs with intense headaches.
Aura often affects vision, though these symptoms don’t last long. During the episode, visual symptoms can affect both eyes. Visual aura symptoms may include the following.
- Flashes: Patients may see flashing lights in both eyes during a migraine.
- Zigzags: Aura may produce a zigzagging effect in both eyes, where the patient sees jagged lines or patterns.
- Blind spots: Many with migraine experience temporary blind spots in both eyes.
- Shimmering: Some patients might see shimmering lights resembling spots or stars.
Vision changes may prevent you from engaging in daily activities like reading, writing, driving or working. While migraine with aura is not necessarily serious, you should still have a doctor assess your symptoms.
What is a retinal migraine?
Retinal migraine involves a temporary loss of vision in one eye that could be a symptom of something more severe. You’ll want to seek treatment if you experience a migraine or partial vision loss.
During a retinal migraine attack, the patient will experience symptoms similar to those of migraine, as well as bouts of vision blindness or headaches. Often, temporary vision loss comes before an intense headache. Retinal migraine only affects one eye.
If you experience this symptom, it could signify a severe condition, and you need to call your doctor immediately. Even if you aren’t sure what’s going on, see a health professional if you experience any of the following.
- Visual changes: Call your doctor if you have vision changes in one eye, especially without any headache symptoms.
- Short changes: If symptoms are short-lived, it could point to a serious condition.
- Long-lasting changes: If symptoms last longer than an hour, you should see a doctor immediately.
- New headaches: Any new headaches or vision changes could be symptoms of severe issues.
- Vision changes at an older age: If you are older than 50, you might be more at risk of retinal migraine and related conditions.
- Weakness in the body: Call your doctor if you experience weakness on one side of your body.
- Speech changes: Because a retinal migraine affects specific brain parts, you might experience changes in speech patterns or word-finding problems.
Symptoms
Understanding ocular migraine symptoms can help you distinguish between migraine with aura and retinal migraine. Visual disturbances result from an affected brain. Some ocular migraine symptoms include the following.
- Zigzag lines: Lines of light might move across your vision.
- C-shaped shimmers: You may see different shapes of shimmering light.
- Half-vision loss: Patients lose their vision in one eye.
- Tunnel vision: You might experience vision loss except in a specific area of your visual field.
- Total vision loss: Some patients lose full vision in both eyes.
Retinal migraine produces different symptoms than migraine with aura. Some symptoms of a retinal migraine include the following.
- Scintillations: The appearance of twinkling lights or spots in vision.
- Scotoma: Decreased vision or loss of vision in parts of the eyes.
- Temporary blindness: Retinal migraine might cause temporary loss of vision in one eye.
Diagnosis and treatment
Diagnosing a migraine with aura or retinal migraine requires doctors to rule out other conditions. Doctors might test for eye diseases and headache disorders while checking your personal and family history. Then, your healthcare provider can determine the type of ocular migraine you’re experiencing and recommend treatment.
Doctors often prescribe preventive medications to reduce migraine effects. For example, you might take calcium channel blockers, anti-seizure or antidepressants or low doses of aspirin. Physicians may also recommend you stop smoking or taking birth control pills. Some eye doctors and specialists could also be able to treat your symptoms.
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