They say that 15% of the population have suffered from the Ocular Migraine. Women seem to outnumber the men and, children seem to be susceptible if they’re parents have had the Ocular Migraine in the past. The Ocular Migraine is a very interesting headache because it not always is painful. In fact some people have called it "The headache without the pain". On top of that it seems that doctors seem to differ in the ways they believe that Ocular Migraines occur and what the symptoms are and the exact cause is unknown. Another term for Ocular Migraines is "vascular headaches."

Times of Occurance

Ocular Migraines typically occur in the early morning hours and sharp pains coming from one side of the head. One persons account went as follows

"Often I would be doing nothing and the onset would begin. My eyes would feel wierd, and I would begin to experience the white prism like orbs in my field of vision. Soon, within minutes my vision would be reduced to the point it was like if I were looking at a person, I could only see half of their face. I couldn’t read at all. Books, signs, etc. just blended together in the prism of light. I could pick out a letter or two if I really concentrated.I didn’t really suffer much with pain, occasionally I would get a small headache when the episode was over, which typically would be about an hour after it started" <Source Article>

Common Causes

Visionary Disturbances are common. A small blind spot that gradually enlarges throughout your central vision. These blind spots are called scotomas, and can include flickering lights or a zigzagging line inside of the blind spot. Sometimes these Ocular Migraine will resolve themselves within a few minutes, but they can also last longer – up to 20 or 30 minutes in some cases. Vision disturbances can also accompany the other symptoms, or even become the primary presentation during a migraine. What exactly causes Ocular Migraines to happen is unknown and, doctors even vary in they’re opinions on cause and symptoms. The Mayo Clinic had this to say about the subject in 2005:

 "The cause of ocular migraines isn’t clearly understood.  But they’re thought to be due to abnormal stimulation of nerve cells (neurons) at the back of the brain."

Treatment While there seems to be a few different specialized treatments for Ocular Migraine out there generally no treatment is proscribed except maybe perscriptions for painkillers. Overall what is important is that you have been properly diagnosed and the problems you are having are not external to the themselves.

Further Reading

I highly recommend Migraine Auras: When the Visual World Fails by Richard Grossinger for further reading on the subject!