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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffVisual disturbances are the most common feature of migraine aura. Signs and symptoms may include:
- Shimmering spots or stars
- Zigzag lines that gradually float across your field of vision
- Loss of vision
- Blind spots (scotomas)
- Flashes of light
These types of visual disturbances tend to start in the center of your visual field and move outward, or spread.
Other types of sensations may accompany your visual disturbances, including:
- Feelings of numbness, typically felt as tingling in an extremity or on your face
- Confusion
- Difficulty with speech or language
A migraine aura usually occurs within an hour before head pain begins and generally lasts from 10 to 30 minutes before disappearing. Rarely, aura may occur with no headache.
Along with the aura, other signs and symptoms of migraine with aura include:
- Severe head pain, often one-sided
- Sensitivity to light
- Nausea and vomiting
- Painful skin (cutaneous allodynia) — as many as two out of three people with migraine also experience painful skin sensations during normal activities, such as brushing hair, wearing contacts or wearing tight clothes
When to see a doctor
If you experience the signs and symptoms of migraine with aura, such as temporary vision loss or floating spots or zigzag lines in your field of vision, see your doctor immediately to rule out more serious conditions, such as stroke or retinal tear. Once these conditions have been ruled out, future migraines with aura don't need to be considered a potential sign of a more serious condition and won't require a visit to your doctor, unless your symptoms change.
Additionally, seek medical attention if you have a headache and:
- Seizures
- Confusion or a loss of consciousness
- You've experienced a blow to the head
- A stiff neck or fever
- Pain in the eye or ear
- You can't perform everyday tasks
- Bajwa ZH, et al. Pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of migraine in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
- Headache: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/headache/detail_headache.htm?css=print. Accessed Jan. 11, 2009.
- Pelak VS. Approach to the patient with visual hallucinations. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
- Ramzan M, et al. Headache, migraine, and stroke. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
- Bajwa ZH, et al. Acute treatment of migraine in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
- Migraine - What are the treatments? American Academy of Neurology. http://www.thebrainmatters.org/index.cfm?key=1.9.6 1/. Accessed Jan. 12, 2009.
- Bajwa ZH, et al. Preventive treatment of migraine in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
- Swanson JW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 15, 2009.
- Tinel D, et al. Vertebrobasilar ischemia after cervical spine manipulation: A case report. Annales de readaptation et de medecine physique 208;51:403.
- Haldeman S, et al. Stroke, cerebral artery dissection, and cervical spine manipulation therapy. Journal of Neurology. 2002;249:1098.
