Ocular Migraines

What are ocular migraines:

It’s happening because of reducing blood flow or spasms of blood vessels in the retina or behind the eye. In an ocular migraine, your vision in the affected eye generally returns to normal within an hour. Unlike it affects both of the eyes. It happens sometimes due to anxiety, the stress of work which you don’t want to do, sometimes your vision goes crazy like broken glass, feel lazy and sometimes it’s because of a headache.

It’s best to stop what you’re doing and rest your eye until you get back to normal. If you have a headache, take a pain reliever by your doctor‘s recommendation.

What are the Symptoms of Ocular Migraine:

There are temporary symptoms of an ocular migraine. It’s not considered a serious condition. You may hear your doctor or someone else called an ocular migraine by some other names like visual, retinal, ophthalmic, or monocular migraines.

Warning signs that it’s coming on are: –

Visions problem that affects just one eye. This includes a change in vision.

Blurry vision and cloudy vision both can be symptoms of a serious eye problem especially if it’s occurring suddenly.

There are some more symptoms of ocular migraine:

  • Pulsating sensation behind the eye.
  • Vomiting.
  • Nausea.
  • Diarrhea.
  • Cold hands and feet.
  • Sensitivity to light.

Causes of Ocular Migraines:

Most of the time things like air quality, air pressure, weather changes, temperature or humidity changes, or even some smells or taste can trigger the migraine with different severity.

It affects 12% of adults worldwide and there is three times the higher prevalence in women: about 16% against 5% of men. It represents the third-most frequent pathology and the second-most disabling. This number is likely much higher among people who get an ocular migraine.

There are so many causes that can be leading to your ocular migraines it is too broad to answer. But there is some main cause that is as follows:

  • Stress – when you stress a lot it cause strain in your mind leading to a headache.
  • Lifestyle – Our lifestyle also affects our habits and so causes problems.
  • The phone uses – If you use your phone for quite more or addicted than it also causes migraines.
  • Eating habits – A balanced diet is important to eradicate the problem. If you eat too much junk food than you are inviting health issues.
  • Water dehydration – you should drink at least 3 liters of water. If you don’t your body becomes dehydrated leading to headaches.

These steps have reduced your migration. Moreover, you should also prevent eating junk food and take proper rest to control migraines.

Treatment and prevention:

To treat and prevent your ocular migraine you should follow these suggestions: –

  • Prevent migraines: In many cases, people are able to identify the particular trigger

Example: chocolate, cheese, wine, oral, contraceptive, computer screens, Avoiding these triggers you can often help to reduce the frequency. However,  some are unavailable (Women get a migraine at a particular point during their menstrual cycle).

  • Treat the migraine pharmacologically: Common drugs used to treat this are paracetamol or non-steroidal antiinflammatories such as tolfenamic acid (this is specifically licensed for migraine) or diclofenac/naproxen/ibuprofen (pain killer that are licensed for any type of pain including ocular migraine). These are often given in conjunction with antiemetics such as metoclopramide or domperidone (to prevent nausea/vomiting associated with an ocular migraine).

If these do not work, the next step is to try sumatriptan or zolmitriptan. These are more potent but are associated with increased risk of side effects.

  • Prevent migraines pharmacologically: This used for those people who have very frequent migraines or suffer a significant disability. Associated with their migraines. This will do not prevent completely, but hopefully, reduce the frequency and allow people to function properly. Example: – Drugs used to prevent migraines are beta-blockers ( like propranolol, metoprolol or bisoprolol) or amitriptyline in the first instant, or sodium valproate in the second instance. But these too are associated with increased risks of side effects, So they must be balanced against potential benefits.      

The best ocular migraine cure is very patient dependent and depends on your particular migraines, your general medical health, and your particular brain physiology. What works for some people will not always work for others

Also Read:

Puffy Eyes
Why Do Eyes Change Colors?
Scroll to Top