Ocular migraines

What are the symptoms of an ocular migraine?

• Temporary loss of vision in one eye (usually the same eye each time).

• Blurry or dimmed vision.

• Flashing lights, squiggly patterns or blind spots across your field of vision.

• A headache before, during or after you experience vision loss.

Any vision loss you experience will typically last for about 10‑20 minutes before your sight starts to return gradually. Sometimes it can be longer, but it’s not common for it to last more than an hour.

Ocular migraines are different to a migraine with aura, which usually affects both eyes.

How do you treat ocular migraines?

Treatment isn’t always necessary for ocular migraines as symptoms usually go away on their own after about half an hour. We’d recommend resting your eyes until your symptoms pass and taking painkillers as instructed if you have an accompanying headache. Otherwise, avoiding exposure to common triggers is the best thing you can do.

However, because ocular migraine symptoms are similar to those caused by a stroke‑type event in the eye, it’s important that you seek medical advice from your GP quickly so that further investigations can be considered.

If you have any concerns about the frequency of your ocular migraines, visit your GP, who may also be able to recommend further treatment.