The American Migraine Foundation explains that migraines aren’t just headaches — they’re neurological diseases with different stages, symptoms, and types. In addition to a throbbing headache, migraine can also cause nausea, tingling, sensitivity to sound, and even temporary vision loss.
Migraines can sometimes be accompanied by an aura, which is a cluster of symptoms that can affect your body, speech, and senses. It typically signals the coming of a migraine and is often mistaken for a stroke, according to WebMD.
It can be scary to experience auras, but if you have migraines frequently, knowing about auras in advance can help you notice an upcoming migraine and plan for managing it. According to the American Migraine Foundation, 25-30% of migraine sufferers will also experience an aura.
It is common for auras to last for about 20-60 minutes, and they include strange symptoms such as difficulty speaking clearly, tingling on one side of your body, and seeing bright dots, zig-zags, and sparks. Doctors and researchers are especially interested in auras because they don’t always occur with migraines for those who do experience them.
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It is believed that migraine auras are caused by electrical waves that travel through the brain. The part of the brain on which the electrical wave runs determines the type of migraine aura you will experience.
Three Types Of Migraine Auras And How To Treat Them
Approximately 99% of migraine auras affect vision, and therefore qualify as visual auras. According to Healthline, there are actually three different types of migraine auras. Despite their commonness, visual auras can bring on a variety of symptoms, such as foggy vision, blind spots, flashes of bright light, and a feeling of underwater vision.
A dysphasic aura, which occurs in less than 10% of all auras, affects your speech and language, manifesting as mumbling, slurred speech, and difficulty making the right sounds.
There are also sensory auras, which can induce pins and needles or tingling in one arm, which can travel up into the face, tongue, or lips. These are slightly more than one-third of all auras, causing disturbances of senses.
In most cases, an aura acts as a warning sign of a migraine, and if you catch a migraine early enough, you might be able to reduce your symptoms. While migraines can be chronic, treatment at the first sign is crucial to resolving them.
The pain can be treated with pain relievers like Excedrin Migraine and Advil Migraine. Additionally, there are prescription medications that can help prevent migraines from occurring if they are taken regularly. As an alternative treatment, you can lie in a dark room, apply a cold compress to your forehead, massage your scalp, and relax.
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