What's the annoying mystery migraine?

The mystery migraine is called an "ocular migraine," and it affects your vision.

Symptoms vary, but ocular migraines cause you to see zigzag lines, often starting at one spot in your field of vision and moving across it before eventually disappearing. You may also have some temporary blurring that interferes with reading or other activities. You might also see shimmering or colored lights. After a few minutes -- usually no more than a half hour -- the sensations will disappear without harming your eyes.

Although an ocular migraine is often an isolated occurrence, for some people these visual symptoms are warning signs that a migraine headache is coming on.

Just as with migraine headaches, the causes of ocular migraines are uncertain. Temporary changes in blood vessels may be involved, just as increased blood flow from widening blood vessels in the brain occurs during migraine headaches.

Although ocular migraines are benign, be aware that the sudden onset of bright flashing lights in your vision, or the appearance of lots of dark "floaters," could be symptoms of a detached retina. The retina is the thin layer of tissue on the back of the eye that collects light and enables us to see.

A detached retina is a serious problem that demands swift treatment. The detached retina tissue will begin to die -- taking your vision with it -- if it's not treated within 24 hours. So if your flashes and floaters don't go away, or are getting worse, call your eye doctor for an emergency appointment.

May 5, 2001

If you have a medical mystery for the sleuths at Sound Medicine, email it to us at: soundmed@iu.edu. Or call us at 317-274-IU4U (317-274-4848).