Question 1

what is a scintillating scotoma?

Accepted Answer

Migraine: A scintillating scotoma occurs with some migraines.  It is a distortion of the side vision with a shimmering or wavy effect.  The vision in the area of the shimmer is impaired.  It is typically in both eyes at the same time, although it can be more prominent in one.  It can be stationary or move.  Scintillating scotoma are alarming but  do not cause long-term vision loss.

Question 2

how do you treat "scintillating scotoma"?

Accepted Answer

Patience: This is a component of ocular migraine, which has its origination in the occipital lobes of the brain.  Most are of short duration although the visual diminution in the center can be very disturbing.  Ocular (occipital) migraine is benign, causes no permanent changes and clears with no after effects.  If very frequent, you could seek the help of a neurologist but this is uncommon.

Question 3

what can you do about scintillating scotoma?

Accepted Answer

Patience: This is a component of ocular migraine, which has its origination in the occipital lobes of the brain.  Most are of short duration although the visual diminution in the center can be very disturbing.  Ocular (occipital) migraine is benign, causes no permanent changes and clears with no after effects.  If very frequent, you could seek the help of a neurologist but this is uncommon.

Question 4

i have scintillating scotoma. what causes it?

Accepted Answer

Patience: This is a component of ocular migraine, which has its origination in the occipital lobes of the brain.  Most are of short duration although the visual diminution in the center can be very disturbing.  Ocular (occipital) migraine is benign, causes no permanent changes and clears with no after effects.  If very frequent, you could seek the help of a neurologist but this is uncommon.

Question 5

i've got scintillating scotoma. what is causing it?

Accepted Answer

Migraine: Almost always this is due to occipital migraine (the occipital lobe is the portion of the brain which registers the vision).  These migraines are usually benign, last several minutes to 2 hours, and are accompanied by greying out areas in one side of each eye surrounded by flashing lights (the scintillating scotomas).  These fade with no trace and the eye goes back to normal.

Question 6

please tell me what can i do about scintillating scotoma?

Accepted Answer

Relax and ignore it: A scintillating scotoma is a benign visual disturbance that can be the start of a classic migraine headache, or occur alone as an ophthalmic migraine without any associated headaches.   There is no effective treatment for a scintillating scotoma.

Question 7

what is a scintillating scotoma and what does it indicate?

Accepted Answer

Ocular migraine: There are three kinds of migraines. Some people see a 10 to 15 minute visual disturbance followed by a headache. This is a classic migraine. Some people only see the visual disturbance without a headache. This is called an ocular or ophthalmic migraine. Please look online to see the typical appearance of a scintillating scotoma.

Question 8

has anyone ever had a scintillating scotoma that lasted long?

Accepted Answer

Patience: This is a component of ocular migraine, which has its origination in the occipital lobes of the brain.  Most are of short duration, minutes to 1 hr, although the visual diminution in the center can be very disturbing.  Ocular (occipital) migraine is benign, causes no permanent changes and clears with no after effects.  If very frequent, you could seek the help of a neurologist but this is uncommon.

Question 9

could you contribute any stories or facts about "scintillating scotoma"?

Accepted Answer

Part of Migraine: The aorta carries blood from the heart with smaller and smaller branching until reaching the retinal artery.  Any spasm of blood vessel along the way will decrease oxygen to the retina.  The only kind of signal that the retina can send is a message of light which you see as 'scintillating scotoma'.  In classical migraine, a headache follows.  To prevent headache take a jolt of caffiene right away.

Question 10

are there any dietary solutions to preventing scintillating scotoma?

Accepted Answer

None known: These mostly occur as a phenomenon related to occipital migraine.  No dietary changes are known to cause, control or prevent these occurrences.

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