Ocular migraines, also known as eye migraines or visual migraines, will cause a brief period of painless vision changes in both eyes. You may notice bright, flashing lights or have an area of missing vision. The episode will typically last around 15 minutes without further symptoms, but some people may experience a migraine headache shortly after the visual symptoms. Knowing how diet may play a role in ocular migraines may help you prevent these episodes.
Causes
As with any migraine, an ocular migraine may occur for a number of reasons. Causes may include a reaction to foods or medications, as well as from changes in hormone levels or lighting, explains Marilyn Haddrill and Dr. Charles Slonim of All About Vision. If you have frequent ocular migraines, or ocular migraines followed by a headache, your doctor may work with you to determine the cause.
Food Triggers
Diet may play a role in triggering an episode of an ocular migraine. Ocular migraines often have similar food triggers as a migraine headache, such as the commonly known triggers of chocolate, caffeine and alcohol. Other foods may also play a role in a migraine. These foods may include items such as over-ripe fruits, such as bananas and avocados, legumes, yeast breads, cultured dairy products, processed meat and food additives, such as monosodium glutamate, says the University of California-Berkeley.
Treatment
An ocular migraine without a headache may not require treatment. These visual disturbances will typically disappear within a short time and leave no residual effects. You may feel more comfortable if you sit down and close your eyes until your vision returns to normal. If you experience a migraine headache after the visual changes, you may need a migraine medication to help relieve pain and any additional symptoms that accompany the headache, such as nausea, vomiting and light sensitivity, explains MayoClinic.com.
Prevention
In order to prevent a visual migraine, you will need to determine what triggers your episodes. Your doctor may recommend that you start a food journal and log in the foods you eat each day and how you feel physically and emotionally. If you have a visual migraine, make a note of this in your journal. Discuss these findings with your health care provider, and she will help you spot foods that you may need to eliminate from your diet. This will take time and a little effort, but if you wish to avoid an ocular migraine, finding these dietary triggers may help reduce the number of episodes.
Considerations
You should always discuss any change to your vision with your eye care provider. Your doctor will perform an eye examination to ensure that you do not have a serious eye condition causing the visual disturbances. Failure to ensure the health of your eyes could result in permanent damage to your vision.
