How Can I Manage Light Flashes In The Field Of Vision And Migraines

Posted on Wed, 21 Jun 2023

Question: Beginning about 27 years ago, I have experienced silent migraines, no pain but I see a jagged light similar to a lightning bolt, that begins small, then expands until it disappears from my vision. This happens over a 10 to 30 minute period. For 15 months I was free of this event, but in the last three weeks it had happened twice. I find this very disconcerting and hope you can shed some light on this condition. Is there anything in medicene that can alliviate this condition or prevent it?

Answered by Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Management of silent migraine

Detailed Answer:

Hello,

Silent migraines presents mainly with symptoms of aura like vision problems, smell changes etc without having actual headache.
Management of silent migraine is just like other form of migraine. Here are the details:
- Keep a diary for your daily activities like sleep, what you eat, exposure to light, noise etc. Keep track of what triggered the migraine episode. Avoid all triggering factors.
- Avoid coffee, chocolate and alcohol
- Eat small frequent meals. Do not go hungry.
- Sleep for 7-8 hours every night.
- Avoid exposure to bright light and loud noise
- Avoid stress. Practice relaxation techniques like meditation.

If the above measures do not help and you develop frequent migraines, then preventive therapy with Beta blockers or anti-seizure medications like Valproate needs to be initiated.

Hope this answers your questions. Please address further questions here.

Regards,
Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal
General & Family Physician

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal (15 hours later)

Thank you for your response. I continue to search for patterns in the episodes I experience. But it is difficult to establish anything beyond what I know: there are long periods of no silent migraine recently 15 months, then followed by a period of up to a year were they occur every two or three months. It is not entirely random, however, I am at a loss to understand the factors that influence the condition. I do not detect any changes in behavior, eating habits, alcohol intake, sleep that would promote a change in occurrence. The one exception is stress. I experienced significant stress in August due to a growth on my throat which proved benign. Afterwords the stress did diminish, but a month later I experienced my first episode in 15 months. I am glad there are medications that offer relief, should I need them.

Answered by Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal (9 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Follow up answer

Detailed Answer:

Hello,

It is sometimes very difficult to identify a particular triggering factor. I have mentioned the most common triggering factors in the above answer. However, some people can have episodes of a migraine without any triggering factor.

Try following the lifestyle measures I mentioned in the above discussion.

Long-term preventive treatment is necessary if lifestyle measures fail to control migraine episodes (episodes of a migraine 1 or more times a week) or if a headache affects your work, family life etc.

Hope I have answered your query.

Regards,
Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal
General & Family Physician

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee