An aura is the most common symptom associated with migraine. Auras are thought to affect one-fifth to twenty percent of migraineurs. They usually affect people with classic migraine. Auras can occur with or without a headache and they are not always a result of migraine attacks. Experts are not able to agree on the cause of migraine auras.
The Stages
There are four stages to a migraine attack: prodrome (or aura), attack (or post-drome). While migraineurs don’t experience all four stages of an attack, most suffer from the first stage. The first signs of an attack are felt during this stage. Some people move on to the second phase, which is when migraine auras begin. Migraine auras are disturbances that occur before an attack and can last from ten to 30 minutes.
The disturbances are usually visual but could also be verbal or motor in nature. Experts compare a migraine aura with a chemical wave that spreads across the brain’s part that processes visual signals. The person begins to see shapes as the wave spreads. It may appear as a small circle or a shape in the field of sight. This could expand to an object like the letter C.
Migraine Auras
Migraine auras differ among migraineurs. Other than the ones already mentioned, flashing lights or bright spots can also be felt. Other people may experience blind spots as well. Scotoma is a partial loss of vision. Other types of migraine auras can be experienced by sufferers. These could occur together with the visual aura, or separately. The sensory aura is characterized as a tingling sensation in one limb that spreads up the arm and sometimes reaches the neck and face.
Dysphasic aura can affect speech and cause difficulty in speaking. Doctors may prescribe several medications to treat migraine auras. These medications include beta-blockers, which help reduce the frequency and severity of migraine attacks, triptans, which relieve symptoms by acting upon the nerves, blood vessels, as well as anti-nausea medicines that reduce the feeling nausea. Others use stress management techniques, such as yoga, proper diet, exercise, and other ways to relax.
Did You Know?
Some people have used migraine auras to their advantage by seeing the positive side. They use it as a warning sign for a migraine attack, and an aura is an alarm signal to let them know it is time to take their migraine medication. The visual aura patterns can also be used to detect other health issues. Some people even made art from them. We can now see works of art that depict the patterns of migraine auras sufferers see during attacks.
