Surprising Facts About Ocular Migraines

Ocular Migraines are a disturbance of your vision that often includes a headache on one side. Alternative terms include ophthalmic migraines, retinal migraines and eye migraines. It is a rare occurrence, affecting 1 out of every 200 people that suffer from migraines. While researchers are uncertain what causes an ocular migraine, it’s often due to other factors than the standard migraine causes. In order for a health care professional to diagnose ocular migraines, they must rule out other conditions that cause the same symptoms.

4. Temporary Blindness

Ocular migraines will cause blindness that lasts for an hour or less. Known as an “episode”, it is usually followed by a migraine. A migraine without the temporary blindness is knows as a “migraine without aura” which is the name replacement from the common migraine.

While they are mostly an issue with your vision, you may also experience problems with the other senses. For example, disturbance of hearing, speaking or smell may occur along with possible numbness in the face, arms or legs. A general weakness may also be a symptom involved.

While it’s rare, an ocular migraine can occur alongside a migraine headache. This causes problems with vision and a one or two sided headache.