The big difference between a regular migraine and an ocular migraine is simply this: an ocular migraine does not produce a headache. But the migraine label is warranted, because an ocular migraine can also produce migraine symptoms such as nausea and the need to lie down in a darkened room with your eyes closed. There are some common treatment options shared between the types of migraines; however, other treatment options are recommended for ocular migraines as well.
Ocular Migraine Defined
An ocular type of migraine is more of a visual migraine, as it does not produce the headache that accompanies a typical migraine, but rather it causes the sufferer to experience visual disturbances from their eyes instead: sufferers may experience pain around the eyes and see shimmering spots or stars, zigzag patterns, a flash (or flashes) of light, as well as blind spots. In addition, whereas regular migraines have a tendency to occur repeatedly over a period of time, ocular migraines might appear once or several times and then not occur again until months or years later.
Symptoms
As with typical migraine headaches, some of the symptoms of ocular migraine are similar: nausea, vomiting, the need to close the eyes and lie in the dark and the inability to operate heavy machinery or drive on the road safely during an attack. Additional possible symptoms are double vision and neurological disturbances.
Treatment
Although strong drugs like Demerol are generally given in emergency migraine situations and could be needed in rare ocular migraine circumstances, normally an analgesic is first used in treating an ocular migraine, because there is not an excruciating headache being experienced. However, other (stronger) options could include: a combination of caffeine and ergotamine tartrate in a drug called Cafergot; Sumatriptan, which can be administered orally, nasally or through an intramuscular injection (and acts quickly against symptoms being experienced); and propranolol (a beta blocker) or amitriptyline (a tricyclic antidepressant drug).
Food Avoidance as Prevention
According to the Mayo Clinic, it is believed by some that avoiding certain foods can help prevent an ocular migraine from occurring. Some foods suspected in precipitating an ocular migraine are: shellfish, nuts, chocolate and artificial sweeteners. However, there is no scientific data to verify conclusively that these foods cause ocular migraines in everyone who experiences this condition, just certain individuals.
Other Possible Items to Avoid
As with the foods mentioned above, it is also believed that caffeine and alcohol may trigger ocular migraines and should be avoided as well. Fatigue and tension are also believed to be contributing factors; however, scientific research has not confirmed either link to date.
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