What is a migraine aura?

Answer 1

Migraine aura is the second phase of a migraine headache, between the prodrome and actual headache phases. It has a wide array of physical symptoms, but is more commonly known by the visual changes that happen to the sufferer.

The migraine aura phase can include any of the body's senses and can result in:

• ** Flashing lights, geometric patterns, tunnel vision, blurry vision, or complete greying or blacking out of vision.
  • Numbness in the extremities, or on the side of the face the migraine is on.
  • Weakness in limbs, impaired motor coordination
  • Paralysis on one side of the body. (Hemiplegic migraines)
  • Confusion
  • Impaired speech called aphasia (trouble finding the correct word, slurred speech or speaking in jibberish)
  • Inability to make a decision
  • Dizziness, vertigo, trouble with balance
  • Smelling something that isn't there
  • Hearing noises such as ringing in the ears that aren't there
  • Tasting something that isn't there
  • Alice in Wonderland Syndrome in which perception is changed.

As stated, many people think of the migraine aura only as the visual occurrences. The visual changes are called scotoma - the word for when there is something - usually something dark, obscuring the vision of the eye. A positive scotoma would be any aura where you feel like there is actually something in the way of your vision, whether light or dark. A negative scotoma is when your eye fails to register anything - it isn't that you see black, you don't see anything in the space where it seems dark. A scintillating scotoma is the one most commonly seen - where there is flickering, flashing patterns, or at times a snow almost like the snow on an old TV set.

Answer 2

Migraine with aura is a different variation of migraine. A migraine with an aura is when one experiences a warning sign before getting the migraine, such as visual problems or stiffness of the limbs.

Answer 3

I had was is deemed a migraine aura stroke BUT I had NO migraine, only an aura. It was later determined, via @n MRI that I had had at least eight mini strokes.