# A Medical Question (but not asking for medical advice.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 19, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-medical-question-but-not-asking-for-medical-advice/928376 "2020-12-19T01:40:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-medical-question-but-not-asking-for-medical-advice/928376/21 "2020-12-19T23:58:11Z")
You might want to read > **[Scintillating scotoma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillating_scotoma)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Scintillating scotoma is a common visual aura that was first described by 19th-century physician Hubert Airy (1838–1903). Originating from the brain, it may precede a migraine headache, but can also occur acephalgically (without headache), also known as visual migraine or migraine aura. It is often confused with retinal migraine, which originates in the eyeball or socket. > Many variations occur, but scintillating scotoma usually begins as a spot o... and > **[Retinal migraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinal_migraine)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Retinal migraine is a retinal disease often accompanied by migraine headache and typically affects only one eye. It is caused by ischaemia or vascular spasm in or behind the affected eye. > The terms "retinal migraine" and "ocular migraine" are often confused with "visual migraine", which is a far-more-common symptom of vision loss, resulting from the aura phase of migraine with aura. The aura phase of migraine can occur with or without a headache.... Two different things with similar names that laypeople often get confused. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-medical-question-but-not-asking-for-medical-advice/928376/22 "2020-12-20T00:01:55Z")
“Scintillating Scotoma” is a really really cool term! The illustration is quite close to what I saw. It’s all part of our magical thinking: something is less scary when it has a name! Thank’ee! ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-medical-question-but-not-asking-for-medical-advice/928376/23 "2020-12-20T00:43:36Z")
Did you see the video I linked? That’s also an illustration of scintillating scotoma. And LSLGuy’s distinction is the same one I was making about brain vs eye. A scintillating scotoma is most likely an electrical disturbance that makes its way gradually across the visual center in the brain. Occurs on one side of the visual field, usually, but doesn’t matter if you close either eye. Retinal “migraine” or other disturbance is clearly in one eye. If you close one eye at a time, what you’re seeing changes. People use “ocular,” “ophthalmic,” and “visual” migraine to describe both of these phenomena, which can be confusing. And then sometimes the more precise terms get confused, too. Using “migraine aura,” or “visual migraine aura” is a precise way of referring to the first one. “Retinal migraine” is a pretty good way of referring to the second one, though I think there’s still some people who misuse that term because they don’t understand that a migraine aura is not happening in the eye. ETA: One thing that is interesting to me about my scintillating scotoma auras is that, like with any blind spot, the brain tries to fill it in with the surrounding background. Once, I got one while watching a World Cup match. My brain filled in the green grass background in the blindspot. Then, from time to time, a player would “pop out” from that area of grass. It was very weird. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-medical-question-but-not-asking-for-medical-advice/928376/24 "2020-12-20T17:50:58Z")
Another problem with the terminology is that laypeople think “migraine = headache”. That’s not accurate and drives further confusion. > [@Trinopus](#): > > It’s all part of our magical thinking: something is less scary when it has a name! Thank’ee! The other thing that de-scary-fies it is that if something has a name (or a wiki article! 😉 ), then lots of other people have experienced it and somebody has studied it enough to bother naming it. I’m now one of millions, not all alone at the cutting edge of human experience. And if it has a name _and_ it’s bad then in this day and age there’s probably something that can be done to make it better. Whew! Not so “magical” after all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-medical-question-but-not-asking-for-medical-advice/928376.md?page=1)