What Are Migraine Auras?
Some of us have been unfortunate enough to experience the excruciating throbbing pain called a migraine headache. In addition, some people have also suffered from cases of visual disturbances. These disturbances may include seeing auras.
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What Is It?
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A migraine aura is a visual sensation that causes flashes of light, zigzagging patterns or blind spots during a migraine headache.
Causes
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The most common causes are stress, hormonal changes, fatigue, changes in the environment, head trauma, hunger, medication side effects and certain food additives or preservatives.
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Risk Factors
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Risk factors for developing migraine headaches with auras are family history and hormonal changes in women (changes during menstruation, pregnancy and menopause). According to the Mayo Clinic, women are three times more likely to have this form of headache over men.
Complications
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People with aura migraines are more likely to have a stroke if they smoke, although Mayo Clinic states that it isn't understood why this occurs.
Treatments
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Over the counter medications such as acetaminophen, Excedrin, Advil, Motrin and Aleve all work to combat migraines with auras. Medications such as Imitrex, Axert, Relpax, Frova, Amerge and Treximet are often prescribed to combat these severe headaches as well.
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Jacob Bøtter
