Migraines Affect Retina Too!

Migraine Headaches Can Affect the Retina

If you suffer from migraine headaches you know the painful debilitating effect they can have on your life. Migraine headaches are one of the most common problems seen in emergency departments and doctors' offices. Migraines are believed to be due to changes in the brain and surrounding blood vessels. Your optic nerve and the nerve fiber layer of the retina are extensions of the brain. Until recently there were few studies to understand if and how the retina was affected by migraine headaches. Using a testing method we actually use in our office called Optical Coherence tomography (OCT), researchers evaluated whether there were structural changes and damage to the nerve fiber layer of patients who suffered from chronic migraines. The researchers reported findings in the Journal of Neurology that showed that chronic migraine suffers had significantly thinner nerve fiber layers and that degree to which they were thinned was inversely proportional to the frequency of their migraine headaches. That is, the more frequent the headaches, the greater the changes and damage to the retina. They believe that although migraine is an episodic and recurrent disease, its chronic nature might cause permanent structural abnormalities involving not only the brain, but also the retina. Thus, it is important to get help to control your migraines not just because of the pain and disability but to avoid compromising the retina.

If you or someone you know suffers from migraines or headaches of any type and has not a recent eye exam please call The Eye Clinic of Texas, an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, at 800-423-3937, visit The Eye Clinic of Texas, Google+  or facebook.com/ecot.lasik.

The Eye Clinic of Texas is an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, the largest ophthalmology clinic in the nation. We are a leading eye care practice serving the greater Houston, Galveston, League City and Texas City with offices at 1100 Gulf Freeway, Suite 114, League City, Texas 77573, 7111 Medical Center Drive, Suite 110, Texas City, Texas 77590 and 2302 Avenue P, Galveston, Texas.