Retinal migraine facts for kids
Retinal migraine is a special type of migraine that affects your eyes. It can cause you to temporarily lose your vision in one eye, usually for a short time, like 10 to 20 minutes. When this happens, you might also get a headache. This headache can be all over your head (a diffuse headache) or just on one side (a unilateral headache).
What Causes Retinal Migraines?
Scientists believe retinal migraines happen because of something called vasospasms in the blood vessels of your eye. These blood vessels are found in the retina, which is a light-sensitive layer at the back of your eye.
Understanding Vasospasms
A spasm is when a muscle suddenly tightens up without you telling it to. Think of a muscle twitch! Vaso- means it has to do with blood vessels. So, a vasospasm is when the tiny muscles in the walls of a blood vessel suddenly tighten.
When these muscles tighten, the blood vessel gets narrower. This is called vasoconstriction. Imagine squeezing a garden hose; less water comes out. In the same way, less blood can flow through a blood vessel when it constricts.
After the blood vessel gets narrow, it then widens again. This widening is called vasodilation. The blood vessel might go back to its normal size or even get a little bigger. One spasm includes both the narrowing (vasoconstriction) and the widening (vasodilation). It is thought that these changes in blood flow might cause the pain of a retinal migraine.
Human eye
The retina is in the back part of the inside of the eye.
Vasospasm causing Vasoconstriction
A vasospasm causes the muscle cells inside a blood vessel to constrict (tighten up), this causes vasoconstriction. When this happens less blood than normal can flow through the blood vessel.See also
