Diagnosing Migraine With Aura:
In order to get a diagnosis of migraine with aura, you must first fit the criteria for a general migraine diagnosis. That includes these four things, according to the American Headache Society:
On top of that, a migraine with aura diagnosis requires these attributes:
Lifestyle Changes For Aura Migraines
Preventing aura migraines is better than having to treat them. As weve seen, some of the triggers behind the condition are within your control.
Consider the following lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of suffering these migrainesand all migraines in general.
- Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Have a consistent sleep routine, going to bed and waking around the same hours every day.
- Avoid processed foods and food additives.
- Eat a healthy and balanced diet that contains fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats.
- Take supplements including a full spectrum eye health supplement.
- Reduce stress through yoga, mediation, and aerobic exercise.
- Limit your consumption of alcohol and caffeine.
- Quit smoking if you can.
- Pay attention to your migraine triggers. Whether they are strong light, intense smells, or particular foods, recognize them and avoid them.
- Drink enough water every day to stay hydrated.
- If youre taking any medication that may increase the risk of migraines, discuss with your doctor possible replacements.
- Take care of your eyes. Patients with migraine are more likely to have dry eyes. According to the same study, dry eye syndrome may make migraine attacks worse.
When to see a doctor: When migraines reoccur, last for more than an hour, or affect only one eye.
Different Types Of Auras
There are a few different kinds of migraine aura:
- Visual auras: This type of aura causes temporary changes in a persons vision, such as vision loss, flashing lights, dots, or zig-zags.
- Sensorimotor auras:This type of aura causes tingling, weakness, or numbness, usually on one side of a persons face or body.
- Dysphasic auras:This type of aura causes verbal symptoms such as slurred speech.
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But Why Migraine With Aura Causes
A migraine with aura doesnt just feel worse. They even concern the experts. Research shows that experiencing aura during your migraine episodes doubles your risk for problems like ischemic stroke.
The tricky part is that researchers are still unclear on why some folks experience auras before their migraine attacks. Most theorize that an aura is precipitated by vascular changes or cortical spreading depression basically, a wave of disrupted brain activity that occurs in some neurological disorders.
Experts *do* know that visual auras stem from the brains occipital lobe. The cortical spreading depression might then travel to other parts of the brain, triggering intense head pain.
More research is needed to fully understand the link between auras and cortical spreading depression. While we dont know exactly why someone might experience a sudden increase in migraine with aura, we do know these are common links:
What Causes Migraine With Aura
It is not known exactly what causes auras.
Scientists have looked into it and found that it may be caused by a slow wave of altered brain activity called cortical spreading depression. This leads to temporary changes in the chemicals, nerves and blood flow in the brain that affect how it works and could be related to pain.
Improving understanding of how these changes in the brain can lead to headache will help with the discovery of new drugs that could prevent migraine attacks.
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Can Lifestyle Changes Help
Because migraine with aura overlaps other health conditions, its sometimes hard to know if, or how, lifestyle changes affect symptoms. For example, sleep and migraine can influence each other. Also, people with migraine may have sleep apnea, trouble sleeping, restless leg syndrome and other sleep problems.
While there isnt much research specific to preventing or treating aura, maintaining consistency in your daily routine can help head off migraine symptoms in general. I like to say the migraine brain likes routine, says Dr. Robblee. Your brain doesnt want to have sudden changes. The same amount of sleep each night, regular meals, adequate hydration and consistent caffeine intake could help you manage your migraine with aura. It may take some time, but in partnership with your doctor, its possible to find a plan for migraine with aura that prevents or relieves your symptoms.
TheAmerican Migraine Foundation is committed to improving the lives of those living with this debilitating disease. For more of the latest news and information on migraine, visit the AMFResource Library. For help finding a healthcare provider, check out ourFind a Doctor tool. Together, we are as relentless as migraine.
Reviewed for accuracy by the American Migraine Foundations subject matter experts, headache specialists and medical advisers with deep knowledge and training in headache medicine. to read about our editorial board members.
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Learn More About Migraine Aura Without Headache Why You Should Visit A Doctor And Available Treatment Options
A small percentage of people with migraine experience an aura that is not followed by head pain. Migraine aura without headache is fairly uncommon and can be hard to distinguish from other visual disturbances, so we reached out to Dr. Kathleen Digre to learn more.
Dr. Digre is a distinguished professor of neurology and ophthalmology and director of the Headache Clinic at the University of Utah. She is also the immediate past president of the American Headache Society and a former president of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society.
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Other Types Of Migraine With Aura
Understanding the different types of aura is important, especially because some aura are more complex. For instance, retinal migraine is similar to a visual aura but only affects one eye. Some people have brainstem aura, which originates in the lower part of the brain and may cause incoordination of movement, dizziness and double vision. Hemiplegic migraine can cause a person to experience weakness or numbness on one side of the body.
With these overlapping symptoms, it can be difficult to distinguish between different types of migraine with aura. Dr. Robblee shared the example of hemiplegic migraine. This type of migraine has weakness as a symptom. However, some people experience weakness with other types of aura or other conditions.
A hemiplegic migraine, again, is a very distinct episode, says Dr. Robblee. It may come with numbness and tingling. It may actually come with some of the speech loss. Some of the vision changes can actually have brainstem aura features, as well. But , you have a full-on weakness neurologic abnormal weakness. Wed actually see a difference in how your facial muscles activate. Because it can be hard to pinpoint whats causing which symptoms, its crucial to dig into your specific migraine history with your doctor.
Treating And Coping With Migraine
Migraine can be debilitating and impact your quality of life. If youre experiencing blind spots or vision disturbances, for example, you will want to wait until they pass before driving.
Ocular migraine will typically go away with time. You should rest and avoid triggers such as bright lights until the vision disturbances are gone.
There are both over-the-counter treatments and prescription medications that you can use to treat recurring migraine flares. 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:
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Causes Of Migraines With Aura
The cause of migraines with aura isnt fully understood.2 Like migraines without aura they are considered a neurovascular disorder. As nerve cell activity increases within the brain, inflammatory chemicals are released, causing swelling of the cranial blood vessels. As the blood vessels swell, they activate the surrounding pain receptors, which ultimately transmit pain signals to the brain.3
Migraines with aura seem to be triggered by many of the same things that can bring on migraine without aura, including:2
- Hormonal changes such as during menstruation
- Changes in altitude or air pressure
- Issues with sleep lack of, or too much
Read more about what causes migraines.
What Causes Migraine Aura
One of the mysteries in migraine research is understanding what causes these unusual symptoms, and how are they connected to migraine overall?
In general, aura could be caused by the same factors that trigger migraine attacks without aura. This includes things like stress, sleep disruption, dietary changes, hormones, and environmental factors. You can read our full article about managing migraine triggers to learn strategies to help you prevent migraine attacks.
In terms of migraine aura specifically, the most commonly accepted theory points towards cortical spreading depression .
CSD is a wave of atypical activity that moves across the brain, altering the function of brain cells and blood vessels. As this activity moves across the brain, it can shut down parts of the brain, explaining why visual aura may appear to travel across the visual cortex.
Its difficult to prove because CSD is incredibly hard to detect in humans with current imaging technology. However it is easier to observe in animal studies, and these studies have suggested a connection between migraine and CSD .
The relationship between aura and migraine pain is more complicated. About 20-40% of people with migraine experience aura and even then, they wont always have aura alongside every migraine attack. Other people have aura without any head pain at all .
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Migraine With Aura Symptoms:
Migraine aura symptoms can affect your eyesight, sense of touch or ability to speak , and they generally last more than five minutes but resolve within an hour. The aura symptoms often accompany or are followed by a headache, but not always. Try to track your symptoms in a journal or an app like Migraine Buddy so that you can provide your physician with as many details as possible.
Migraine Aura Without Headache
A migraine aura without headache, or silent migraine, involves aura sensations and other symptoms without a headache. This type of migraine is rare. It typically only affects around 4% of people with migraine.
You can discern aura from other migraine types because it typically affects both eyes and builds up. This means that within the first 5 minutes, the aura generally changes. It can last up to 1 hour.
Speak with your doctor if you regularly experience aura without a headache so they can rule out any other conditions.
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The Importance Of Consulting A Doctor
Its important to visit a doctor if you experience migraine aura without headache frequently. This can help rule out other conditions that cause aura or visual disturbances and get an accurate diagnosis.
Episodic aura without headache is usually not a problem. Its a nuisance. It happens maybe one or two times a year, says Dr. Digre. Its the people who get the frequent aura without headache that I want to see, evaluate and make sure that nothing else is going on.
Your doctor can conduct an examination to make sure theres no sign of a visual field defect or permanent impairment, and may also order an MRI scan or bloodwork. Blood tests can help distinguish migraine aura without headache from other conditions such as autoimmune conditions. Persistent aura can be seen with a stroke, so getting the correct diagnosis is really important.
What Are The ‘red Flags’ That My Visual Symptoms Are Not Due To Migraine
The typical symptoms of a visual migraine are positive, meaning that there is something shimmering or sparkling that is disrupting the vision. Migraines are less likely to cause “negative” symptoms of pure visual darkness. An episode of visual darkness typically requires additional evaluation for other conditions, including a mini-stroke .
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Everything You Need To Know About Migraine Aura
Migraine headaches can cause several uncomfortable symptoms, from a severe headache on one side of your head to nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound.
For some people, a migraine episode also comes with a neurological disturbance known as an aura.
A migraine aura can occur before or during a headache, and in some cases, without a headache at all.
If you get migraines with aura, its important to tell your doctor about your symptoms.
A healthcare provider may want to rule out other medical problems.
If youre diagnosed with migraine aura, your provider can recommend a treatment that may relieve your symptoms.
In this article, Ill explain what a migraine aura is and what causes it.
Ill explore migraine aura symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Lastly, Ill explain when to see a doctor for a migraine aura.
Treating Migraine Aura Without Headache
When migraine aura without headache is frequent or severe, your doctor can recommend treatment options, such as low dose aspirin, calcium channel blockers or other medications.
My favorite treatment has been baby aspirin, if they dont have any contraindication for baby aspirin, says Dr. Digre. Calcium channel blockers often will treat aura without headache if its frequent.
For people who experience onset of migraine aura later in life, the symptoms can be very severe and last for several days. In that case, Dr. Digre usually prescribes a calcium channel blocker, but other medications can be used.
There arent any specific lifestyle adjustments to treat migraine aura without headache. However, taking steps like getting adequate sleep, decreasing stress and avoiding known migraine triggers may help prevent aura without headache.
The American Migraine Foundation is committed to improving the lives of those living with this debilitating disease. For more of the latest news and information on migraine, visit the AMF Resource Library. For help finding a healthcare provider, check out our Find a Doctor tool. Together, we are as relentless as migraine.
Reviewed for accuracy by the American Migraine Foundations subject matter experts, headache specialists and medical advisers with deep knowledge and training in headache medicine. to read about our editorial board members.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Migraine
The main symptoms of migraine are an intense, throbbing or pounding headache often affecting the front or one side of the head, nausea and sometimes vomiting , and an increased sensitivity to light smells and sound. The throbbing headache is often made worse by the person moving.
Other symptoms of migraine might include poor concentration, feeling hot or cold, perspiration , and an increased need to pass urine. This can occur before, during or after the migraine attack.
People might also experience stomach aches and diarrhoea.
It is common for people to feel tired for up to two or three days after a migraine.
Migraine With Brainstem Aura
- strong smells, such as that of smoke, perfume, or gasoline
- weather changes or barometric pressure changes
Factors that increase the risk of developing migraine, including migraine with aura, include:
- Sex: Females are two to three times more likely than males to experience migraine. It affects around 1 in 5 females.
- Age: This condition is most common in those ages 1844.
- Family history: Around 90% of people with migraine have a family history of the condition.
The treatment options for migraine with aura are similar to those for other types of migraine.
Treatment depends on the frequency and severity of a persons symptoms. Some options include:
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Other Stages Of A Migraine
An aura is typically the second stage of a migraine.5 The four stages of a migraine are prodrome, aura, attack and post-drome.5 During the prodrome stage, which comes before an aura, you may notice warning signs of a migraine one to two days before the pain occurs.5 These warning symptoms include mood changes, increased urination, frequent yawning, neck stiffness and food cravings.5 After the attack stage of a migraine is the post-drome stage, where you may feel drained, confused or washed out for about a day.5 Not everyone who experiences a migraine will go through all four of these stages.5
What Is Migraine Aura Without Headache
For most people, a headache follows the aura. But some people dont get the headache they just get the aura, says Dr. Digre. That is what is known as migraine aura without headache.
Migraine aura without headache is not very common. Only about 4% of people with migraine have aura without headache. It commonly occurs in two age groups: young adults in their 20s and 30s, and older adults between 40 and 60 years old.
People who have migraine with aura with headache, sometimes will lose their headache as they get older. So the headache part goes away, and the aura continues, says Dr. Digre. Almost 40% of people whove had migraine with aura in later life will get aura without headache.
Migraine aura without headache is sometimes referred to as ocular migraine, a common misnomer. Ocular migraine is not even in the International Classification Of Headache Disorders, explains Dr. Digre, It doesnt exist.
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