Optical Migraines – What Are They and What Causes Them?
March 11th, 2010 . by Peter
Several types of migraine headache affect the eye, but there are no headaches medically diagnosed as optical migraines. The problem with such a term starts with its definition. Optical means relating to sight or to the eye. Migraine comes from the Greek, hemikranion, meaning pain on one side of the head.
So, the term is quite broad, meaning pain on one side of your head relating to your eye or your sight which can cover an awful lot of ground to be honest. What someone may call an optical migraine is usually either an ocular migraine or an opthalmoplegic one.
Most headaches described as optical migraines are really ocular migraines, which are a type of migraine without headache, also known as aura without migraine. Although the ocular type of headache is rare, it is the most common type of migraine without headache. Ocular migraine symptoms usually are described as flashing, shimmering, or glittering lights or they may resemble the static you see on a television.
The symptoms of this type of migraine usually last less than an hour. People who experience this type of migraine generally exhibit the same symptoms for long periods of time. If this type of headache is new to you or if your symptoms change, it is important to consult your doctor to rule out other serious causes – never leave these things to chance.
Opthalmoplegic migraines are a very rare, severe form of eye-migraine. This type of “optical migraine” begins with severe pain in the eye that often causes vomiting. The cause of this migraine is thought to be weakness in the muscles that surround the eye. Aside from the acute pain, as the migraine intensifies, nerves in the eye become paralyzed and cause the eyelid to droop.
This phenomenon, called ptosis, can go on for weeks. Opthalmoplegic migraines are most commonly found in children. However, the true danger is that this headache isn’t a migraine at all. No matter what your age, if your headaches exhibit these symptoms, it’s very important to seek medical attention to rule out other severe health conditions. Prevention is always better than cure right?
