Ocular Migraine Treatment
The visual portion of an ocular migraine usually lasts less than 60 minutes, so most people don't need treatment. It's best to stop what you're doing and rest your eyes until your vision goes back to normal. If you have a headache, take a pain reliever that your doctor recommends.
Harsh lighting, long screen time, other visual strain, stress, dehydration, food additives, and other causes all may trigger an ocular migraine, a subtype that focuses in the eye and causes vision changes.
Over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen or Excedrin Migraine may also help reduce the symptoms. Other medications that may help you manage ocular migraine include: beta-blockers. anti-epileptics.
The most substantial evidence for magnesium's effectiveness is in patients who have or have had aura with their migraine. It is believed magnesium may prevent the wave of brain signaling, called cortical spreading depression, which produces the visual and sensory changes in the common forms of aura.
Ocular migraine, or migraine with aura, and stroke are two different conditions. Having an attack doesn't mean you're having a stroke or are about to have one. However, research has shown that people with migraine with aura are at an increased risk of stroke.
If you have visual symptoms that have not previously been evaluated by a health care provider, you should see a provider if you have any of the following: Visual changes in only one eye. Visual changes that last less than five minutes and more than 60 minutes. Visual changes without a headache.
With ocular migraines, it is somewhat difficult to tell whether you are having the symptoms in one of your eyes or both of them. You would have to close one eye to know which one is experiencing the symptoms. Expect a headache that lasts from four hours to 72 hours, and it: Feels either moderately or severely painful.
Magnesium
A lack of magnesium has been linked to headaches and migraines. Comparatively, magnesium supplementation sometimes helps people treat visual disturbances, nausea, vomiting and other migraine symptoms. Research shows magnesium sometimes offers a preventative migraine treatment.
Treatments for ocular migraine are best taken at the start of an attack. You can take over-the-counter painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain relief. Soluble painkillers such as aspirin can enter the bloodstream faster and may be a good choice if you're nauseous.
Topical beta blocker eye drops achieve therapeutic plasma levels within minutes of ocular administration which may explain their apparent effectiveness in relief of acute migraine symptoms.
Ocular migraines and stroke are two conditions that share similar symptoms and can often be confused. Although an ocular migraine alone does not indicate a stroke, studies show that those who suffer from ocular migraines may be at a higher risk of experiencing a stroke.
Diagnosing an Ocular Migraine
If you are experiencing any kind of impairment to your vision similar to the symptoms above, it is always important to discuss those with your doctor. A neurologist can help a patient distinguish between whether they are experiencing migraine aura or more serious retinal migraines.
Go to the ER if you are experiencing severe migraine symptoms, or symptoms such as confusion, fever and vision changes, neck stiffness, trouble speaking or numbness or weakness, even if other symptoms of migraine are present (e.g. light sensitivity, nausea).
But during a migraine, these stimuli feel like an all-out assault. The result: The brain produces an outsize reaction to the trigger, its electrical system (mis)firing on all cylinders. This electrical activity causes a change in blood flow to the brain, which in turn affects the brain's nerves, causing pain.
Migraines may progress through four stages: prodrome, aura, attack and postdrome.
Retinal migraines are rare, affecting 1 in 200 migraine sufferers. Retinal migraines cause repeated temporary episodes of blindness in just one eye. Most people experiencing a retinal migraine report that their vision suddenly becomes very blurry, or that there is a partial or complete “blackening out” of their vision.
Vitamin B2 Deficiency
The B vitamins help to protect from headaches, according to the National Headache Foundation, but it is B2 (riboflavin) that really stands out and where a deficiency may lead to headaches.
Increasing the levels of serum B12 by more than 643 pg/mL is accompanied by roughly an 80% decrease in the adjusted odds of having a migraine, according to a study published in the journal Headache.
In general, migraines likely involve alterations of blood flow to certain regions of the brain. In the case of ocular migraines, the involved area is the vision center of the brain.
People with ocular migraines can have a variety of visual symptoms. Typically you will see a small, enlarging blind spot (scotoma) in your central vision with bright, flickering lights (scintillations) or a shimmering zig-zag line (metamorphopsia) inside the blind spot.
Dehydration is one of several triggers that can exacerbate migraine headaches, including migraine variants like the one you are experiencing. Maintaining good hydration should help reduce the frequency of these visual migraines, which are also known as acephalgic migraine.
Stress is a common trigger of migraine headaches, including ocular migraine headaches. Since anxiety causes stress, anxiety is a common cause of migraine headaches, including ocular migraine headaches.