The Ophthalmic Migraine Kaleidoscope
Some people report a certain visual hallucination due to migraine – seeing kaleidoscopes. What exactly does this mean?
Some people talk about the ophthalmic migraine kaleidoscope. “Ophthalmic Migraine” is actually not a specific kind of migraine, but it’s a term that’s sometimes used to refer to migraine with visual disturbances or “aura”. Sometimes ophthalmic migraine refers specifically to a migraine attack in which there are visual symptoms but no headache. The diagnosis either way would be a type of migraine with aura.
But what is this ophthalmic migraine kaleidoscope?
Patients occasionally describe these migraine auras as kaleidoscopes. Podoll and Robinson’s Migraine Art describes the experiences of some patients as recorded in medical literature:
- octagonal kaleidoscopic geometric figures fitted together in ten colors
- kaleidoscopic images
- a crimson area with an ever-moving pattern like a kaleidoscope
Even though these auras are not always specifically described as kaleidoscopes, there are a number of similar descriptions. Flower patterns, for example. Webs, spirals and lattices. Very specific mosaic patterns are also described. Take for example this description from a patient:
It was an irregular shape composed of five-and-six-sided units, which were largest in the center of the shape and smaller at the edges. Clusters of units were revolving and each individual unit was revolving; it was all swirling and moving all the time. In the middle, the units tended to be blue and orange, those around them were red and green, but there was no very clear demarcation into zones. Colors were intense and brilliant like stained glass windows full of light…
Sounds like a kaleidoscope to me!
Of course not all auras are like an ophthalmic migraine kaleidoscope. But why patterns at all?
The aura images, such as the ones described above, are a result of activity in the brain. The cortical spreading depression is a kind of “brain storm” that spreads across the brain, bringing strange symptoms with it.
It has been hypothesized that the shapes some people see are actually a representation of how parts of the brain work. It’s like you’re seeing a “reflection” of the setup of part of your brain. (Read more in Why Migraine Auras are the way the are)
The visual disturbances are usually treated with ordinary migraine treatments, such as magnesium, triptan medications, lifestyle changes, and so on.
If you have experienced kaleidoscope auras, tell us about it – or better yet, draw a picture and submit your artwork here.
I’ll close with the words of someone else who took the time to represent their migraine aura in art:
I felt separate from the real world, and when I closed my eyes I could see flashes of color and light. . . . I became almost mesmerized by what I was seeing behind my eyelids.”
All quotes taken from Migraine Art: The Experience from Within.
freeandclear1
7 August 2015 @ 10:14 am
This is what I see several days a week – psychedelic….no need to ingest anything #migraine http://t.co/fGzFD0xZyb
29 March 2017 @ 7:36 pm
Good article. I get this type of ophthalmic migraine kaleidoscope usually if I am over-tired or did not sleep well and have to be up with the birds in the morning. They are like brightly colored snowflakes or ferris wheels spinning around and around rapidly, changing colors, don’t have much of a headache with them, but find I have dizzy spells and lose my equilibrium somewhat. Aspirin and a couple of hours of sleep seem to make them go away.
19 June 2017 @ 9:00 pm
I had like 3 different wake ups seeing those, they run spinal tap, mri, labs like crazy, finally they told me all was stress, and I was very stressed, hard to believe and scary as ****.
8 July 2017 @ 5:22 pm
I’ve had these symptoms for about 6 years now- I’m 60 , it starts suddenly with one or both eyes, the vision is hampered by multiple zig zag shapes with edges a bright rainbow fractal that moves , I also will get nausea and often migraine pain behind the eyes, I will take my migraine meds, maxolt and excedrin with diet coke, and close my eyes, after about 30 minutes it fades away, then I have the post migraine agony of feeling like a train ran over me for hours. I also get more traditional Migraines so I was sad to pass this on to all four of my children- generation 5 that we know of.
23 January 2018 @ 11:02 am
I had episodes of “kaleidoscope effects” in both eyes at the same time for over than 25 years; but now that I am 76 they seem to happen more frequently (every 4 to 10 days) instead of every 3 months, as before !?! The episodes (or crisis) start with a very small kaleidoscope type visual effect in one corner of one eye which grows gradually to a much larger scope in both eyes, until my vision become completely blurry. The whole episode from start to finish usually fades away in about twenty minutes or so.
1 May 2018 @ 8:34 pm
I get these about once a year, I’m 53, typically in my right eye. It starts as a small blind spot in the center of my vision and gradually grows in size as it gravitates to the right, outside edge of my vision before disappearing entirely. At it’s largest it’s a reverse C shape around half the outside perimeter of my sight. It shimmers like a jagged, fractal rainbow but too hard to ‘focus’ on in order to discern detail. No associated pain, maybe tiredness, but that’s it.
7 May 2018 @ 7:55 pm
I am so excited to read these comments! I thought I was going crazy trying to explain the aura the way I felt. I started taking topiramate 25 everyday and have had two migraines I. 7 months. I’m going to check out the m medicine I read about