Having a migraine is associated with intense pain, but there are other symptoms that can come along with these headaches. One of the more common ones? Migraine aura.

Migraine aura is experienced by up to 20-40% of people who have migraines, according to Headache Australia. And, of those, the majority of people have a visual migraine aura.

But what is migraine aura and how can you tell if you’ve experienced it? Here’s what you need to know.

What is migraine aura?

Migraine aura, also known as migraine with aura or a classic migraine, is a migraine attack that happens following or the same time as sensory disturbances called aura, according to Headache Australia.

Auras can include flashes of light, blind spots, and other vision changes, or tingling in your hands or face.

“We don't know why some [migraine patients] experience aura and some don't,” says neurologist Dr Amit Sachdev.

Not all migraine auras happen with a painful headache, though. “Migraine aura without headache often occurs later in life, and is sometimes mistaken for a sign of a stroke,” says neurologist Dr Andrew Charles.

Symptoms of migraine aura

Symptoms can vary based on the type of migraine aura you experience. However, the Headache Australia says that visual migraine aura can cause the following symptoms:

  • Flashing lights
  • Lines or geometric shapes
  • Zig-zag lines
  • Foggy vision
  • Blind spots
  • Tunnel vision
  • The sensation that you’re looking at objects through water or heat waves

“These visual changes are often transient,” Dr Segil says. Meaning, they only last for a short period of time. “It may look like a kaleidoscope or a tear in the vision,” he adds.

Other migraine aura symptoms can include:

  • Numbness
  • Pins and needles
  • Trouble speaking
  • Slurred speech

Types of migraine auras

There are three main types of migraine auras, per Headache Australia:

  • Migraine with brainstem aura, which originates at the base of the brain and includes classic aura symptoms as well as dizziness, difficulty speaking, impaired coordination, tinnitus, double vision and loss of consciousness. 

  • Hemiplegic migraine is identified by weakness on one side, as well as numbness and tingling or temporary paralysis in arms and legs on a single side. 

  • Retinal migraine relates to visual disturbances in one eye that are completely reversible including blindness, blind spots or flickering of vision. 

How is migraine aura diagnosed?

Migraine aura is usually a “diagnosis of exclusion,” says neurologist Dr Clifford Segil, so doctors will usually want to try to rule out other health conditions before diagnosis you with this. “We want to make sure there’ nothing sinister going on,” he adds.

Headache Australia says migraine auras are diagnosed by a GP or neurologist according to ICHD-3 (International Classification of Headache Disorders). 

Migraine aura treatment

Treatment for migraine aura is basically the same as treatment for a migraine, says pain management specialist Dr Medhat Mikhael.

“People get the aura before the migraine comes and it becomes a sign that the migraine is coming in certain patients,” he says. “The best thing to do is to use the same abortive measures and medications you use for migraine.”

Dr Sachdev agrees. “If you have a predictable pattern of headache attack, then you will want to initiate your headache abortive plan at the first sign of the aura,” he says. “Usually this includes medication, as the aura often portends a bad headache to come.”

Treatments can include using things like over-the-counter pain relievers and triptans (which block pain pathways in the brain). Preventive treatments like antidepressants, anti-epilepsy medications, and Botox injections may also help prevent auras and migraines from happening in the first place, Headache Australia says. 

Keep in mind, per Dr Charles, that “at this point, we don't have any acute treatments that can reliably stop an aura once it starts.”

Still, “if you take the medication to treat the migraine, the aura should lesson and become much more short-lived,” Dr Mikhael says.

© prevention.com
First published:
Tags:  healthhealth conditions