For roughly a quarter to a third of people with migraine headaches, an attack announces itself before the pain even starts. A Migraine with aura brings temporary neurological symptoms, most often visual, shimmering zigzag lines, flashing spots, or expanding blind spots, that build gradually over five to twenty minutes and typically resolve as the headache pain begins.
Aura happens because of a wave of altered electrical activity that spreads slowly across the surface of the brain, known as cortical spreading depression. While vision is affected most often, aura can also involve tingling or numbness that spreads across one side of the body, difficulty finding words, or, less commonly, brief weakness. It can be genuinely frightening the first time it happens, especially since aura symptoms can resemble those of a stroke.
Some people experience aura at every migraine attack, others only occasionally, and a smaller group experiences aura without any headache pain following it at all, sometimes called a silent migraine.
Common Aura Symptoms to Recognize
● Shimmering, zigzag, or flashing lights in the vision
● Expanding blind spots or blurred vision
● Tingling or numbness spreading across one side of the body
● Temporary difficulty speaking or finding words
● Symptoms building gradually, then resolving as pain begins
Any new or first-time aura symptoms, especially if they’re one-sided, sudden rather than gradual, or don’t fully resolve, deserve prompt medical evaluation to rule out other causes. Once a migraine headache with aura is properly diagnosed, though, it’s important to know it’s treatable, and a migraine headache expert can help reduce how often those warning signs, and the headaches that follow them, occur at all.
HOW THERAPEUTIC BOTOX CAN HELP
How Therapeutic Botox Helps Migraine With Aura
Therapeutic Botox is approved for chronic migraine relief regardless of whether attacks include aura, and many patients with aura see real reductions in both headache frequency and overall attack burden. By calming the overactive nerve pathways involved in triggering attacks, Botox can help raise the threshold that leads to cortical spreading depression in the first place.
Backed by large clinical trials and approved by Health Canada and the FDA, Botox is a proven option for patients whose migraine headaches come with visual or sensory warning signs. Reach out to our migraine headache clinic Burlington ON to learn more.
To find out if Therapeutic Botox is right for you, schedule a consultation with Dr. Jared Nabeta, your Migraine headache specialist in Burlington. Call (905) 639-6701 or book online at NabetaDentistry.com/appointment-request.
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