Migraine Auras - What Are They?

Next to a headache, an aura is the occurrence most associated with a migraine. It is believed that auras happen to one-fifth or twenty percent of migraineurs and usually affects people with classic migraine. Auras do not happen every time an attack happens and it can occur without an accompanying headache. Currently, the experts do not really have a general consensus on what causes migraine auras.

There are four known stages of a migraine attack: prodrome, aura, attack and post-drome. Migraineurs do not go through all of the four stages during an attack but most experience the first stage. During this time, the first warning signs are felt. Some proceed to the second phase and this is when migraine auras occur.

Migraine auras are generally defined as disturbances that precede an attack, commonly lasting for ten to thirty minutes. Although usually visual, the disturbances could also be motor and verbal in nature. Experts liken a migraine aura to a chemical wave that progresses across the part of the brain that processes visual signals. As the wave spreads, the person starts to see shapes. It might start as a small circle of light or a geometric shape in the field of vision and this may expand to an object shaped like the letter C. Zigzag lines could also be seen on the periphery. Migraine auras differ among migraineurs. Aside from those already described, flashing lights and bright spots could also be felt. Others experience blind spots along with the other shapes. This partial loss of vision is called scotoma.

There are other types of migraine auras that a sufferer might perceive, which could happen together with the visual aura or by themselves. The sensory aura is characterized by a tingling or numb feeling in one limb that travels up the arm and sometimes spreads to the face and neck. A dysphasic aura affects the speech and might cause difficulties in speaking.

Several medications are prescribed by doctors to treat migraine auras. These include beta-blockers that help decrease the severity and frequency of migraine attacks, triptans that relieve symptoms by acting on the nerves and blood vessels, and anti-nausea drugs that reduce the feeling of sickness. To complement this treatment, others employ stress management techniques such as yoga, proper diet and exercise and other ways to relax and reduce stress.

Some people have seen the positive side of migraine auras and used it to their advantage. Primarily, they utilize it as a very visible warning sign to an impending migraine attack and consider an aura as an alarm signal that lets them know that it is time to take that migraine medication. Changes in the visual aura patterns could also be used for detection of some other underlying health problems. Others have even gone a step further and made art out of them. Now we can see works of art depicting the patterns of migraine auras that sufferers see during an attack.