Greetings Shooters,
A new topic came up which I thought may be beneficial to our shooters. I promised a good friend that I would discuss "Ocular Migraines," and then I had recalled another shooter asking me about similar symptoms experienced with ocular migraines as he was driving home after a match. Recently, another shooter contacted me regarding the same subject so I would like to share some information for all.
When these shooters discussed some of the visual symptoms with me, they were probably alarmed because of the "unknown." Migraine headaches affect millions of Americans and because of the severe unique headache, diagnoses may be straightforwards but this is not always the case. Those who have experienced ocular migraines will experience only visual symptoms without the migraine headaches. These symptoms may often be confused with those involving retinal detachment, vitreous detachment and strokes so a doctor's visit is always recommended.
Common symptoms include a visual aura such as bright shimmering lights, jagged lights, semi-circle of light or visual field defects lasting minutes to over an hour and may cause quite a scare. The eyes are not involved but it is the blood vessels leading into the vision center of the brain experiencing spasms. Full recovery is always the case and fatigue may follow. I would suspect that many of our shooters have experienced ocular migraines at one time or another. This post may alleviate some fears but please always seek further care to confirm.
Good Vision and Good Shooting To All,
Norman H. Wong, O.D.