What Do Migraines Have To Do With Eyes?

Migraines are quite the headaches. But migraines go beyond just a headache. People who suffer from migraines can also have all sorts of different symptoms and experiences. Changes in vision are frequently one of these experiences. Why is this?

Migraines are caused by complex neurological dysfunction of neurons in the brain. There are a few unique things about migraines. The first is that people who have migraines frequently have the same pattern of symptoms every time. You will often hear people describe their headache as starting in one area and moving to the other. Along with this, some people have the same pattern of symptoms or an aura prior the development of the headache. It is this aura which causes most of the vision symptoms in a migraine. People may see zig-zags, shimmering, flickering or blind spots lasting for about five minutes.

It’s important to note that the eye involvement in a migraine doesn’t indicate any dysfunction of the eyes themselves (but do note that not all transient loss of vision is related to migraines and thus should be investigated). The dysfunction is actually happening in the brain. Specifically in the part of the brain processing vision known as the occipital lobe. When these neurons in the brain misfire, the brain still translates this as visual information to create the perception of changes in vision.

It’s at least comforting to know that nothing is actually wrong with the eyes themselves when you experience visual changes from a migraine. Still, any new migraines should always be worked up by a doctor to make sure everything else is healthy.

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