Flashes of light, shimmering stars and a fade too black. While this may sound like the climactic end to a sci-fi movie, don’t be fooled. These are the symptoms people may experience when they suffer from an ocular migraine.
Ocular migraine, also called as retinal migraine, is a different condition and shouldn’t be confused with the headache type of migraine which is known as migraine aura that usually affects the vision of both eyes. Ocular migraine may cause partial or total loss of vision in one eye and this usually lasts approximately 15-30 minutes before vision gradually returns.
Ocular migraines are a type of migraine that are in maximum cases painless and silent. However, one cannot interchange these two terms. Ocular migraines cannot be used interchangeably with ‘silent migraine’. During this type of migraine, people experience auras in vision, accompanied with or without headache and temporary loss of vision.
Causes
Ocular migraine can be triggered by high blood pressure, stress, excessive heat, smoking, disturbed sleep cycle, and high altitude. The exact cause of ocular migraine is unknown. Leading theories attribute them to spasms in retinal blood vessels, and changes to nerve cells in the retina. Theories have also stated that it is caused by electrical activity in brain usually when an electrical impulse causes abnormal activity.
Treatment
Resting the eyes, avoiding bright lights, reducing stress factors and minimising screen time (time spent looking at television, computer monitor, tablet or phone) can bring relief.
(The author is head, CDMA, Alcon India)