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A common trigger for migraine headaches, which ranks
right up there with stress and hormonal changes, is visual problems. This is understandable when you remember that a primary migraine
cause is a constriction in the blood vessels going to the neural
center. These have blood vessels which go directly toward
the brain, which can lead to migraines.
Not
all visually-caused migraines are the same, of course. There
are different forms of eye migraines.The four main types are known
as acephalgic migraines (otherwise known as silent migraines), ocular
migraines, ophthalmic, and ophthalmoplegic migraines.
Acephalgic migraines are, surprisingly, migraines
without the headache. This is counter-intuitive to most, because
we tend to think a migraine is a headache. However, the pain
is only one symptom a migraine (It just happens to normally be the
most noticeable one). Other symptoms of migraines, which will
also afflict the person with an acephalgic migraine, include vomiting,
nausea, abdominal pain, congestion, dizziness and visual problems. The visual problem is the most noticeable characteristic of
acephalgic eye migraines.
Acephalgic
eye migraines are treated similarly to other forms of migraine. However, use caution, as other conditions might produce similar
symptoms.
The
second type of eye-related migraines are ocular. These are
rare, and generally they last for less than an hour. During
an ocular migraine, the person can get either a complete or partial
blindness in a single or both eyes. Ocular migraines also
sometimes come without the headaches, although in other instances,
a headache will strike, but following the visual disturbances. Ocular
headaches sometimes strike every week, every month, or even every
year. A few people can even go years before experiencing another.
A third
kind of eye migraines are ophthalmic ones. These have similar
symptoms to ocular migraines, but they strike during the peak of
another migraine. For example, if a person suffers from a
migraine attack, it's common for an eye disturbance such as complete
or partial blindness to occur with it.Actually, ophthalmic migraines
are some of the most common eye migraines. The International
Headache Society, however, does not classify them separately, since
they always strike as part of another form of migraine. For
this reason, it's difficult getting information about ophthalmic
migraines.
And finally, one last form of eye migraine is called
the ophthalmoplegic migraine. This is the rarest of all eye
migraines and in fact, some health experts will not even classify
it as a migraine.With this type, the head pain is quite severe,
plus there is a weakness in the person's eye muscles. This
weakness leads to a temporary state of double vision and a dilated
pupil. This form is usually found in children, and rarely
in adults.
If you feel that you might suffer from some form
of eye migraines, speak with your doctor about it. He can
help you determine if this is what it is, and if so, he will diagnose
what kind of eye migraine it is. He will also help you develop
a way to treat the symptoms and get some relief, and possibly prevent
some future attacks. |