What is Migraine with Aura?

Migraine is a chronic disorder that is usually accompanied by nausea and severe headaches. Migraine is
considered to be a neurovascular disorder. The occurrence of migraine is almost three times more common in
women compared with men. Migraine with aura is a type of migraine wherein symptoms such as blind spots,
flashes of light or tingling in the hands or face may be experienced prior or during migraine episodes. Almost a
third of the people commonly experiencing migraine headaches suffer from auras.
What is an Aura?
An aura, meanwhile, is a sensory or motor emotion, phenomenon or idea that usually signals the onset of
seizure or an impending occurrence of a classic migraine headache. Aura that is associated with classic migraine
headaches results from cranial vasoconstriction. Normally, the auras last for 10- 30 minutes with varying intensity
and duration.
These auras may be classified as cognitive, psychosensory, affective or psychomotor. Among these types,
most people experience psychosensory auras particularly visual auras.
What are the symptoms of auras?

Psychosensory
o Visual
Examples of visual changes during auras commonly experienced include light flashes (scintillations),
zigzag lines, vibrating visual fields, distortion of the sizes and shapes of objects, temporary blindness in
an eye, photosensitivity, tunnel vision, or scotoma.
o Auditory
Buzzing or ringing in the ears, auditory hallucinations, heightened sensitivity to hearing and amplitude
modulation usually are some of the symptoms experienced when having auras.
o Gustatory
Having acidic, metallic or bitter tastes in the mouth can also be experienced when having auras.
o Olfactory
Heightened sense of smell or even sensing strange or foul smells (phantosmia) also occur.
o Tactile
Numbness or tingling in different body parts can also accompany auras.

Psychomotor
o Automatisms
Lip smacking, swallowing, chewing, grimacing, picking at clothes are common symptoms of having a
psychomotor aura.