Scintillating Scotoma

What is a Scintillating Scotoma, and How Does It Work?

Scotoma refers to a blind spot or aura that blocks part of your vision. Scintillating Scotomas are blind spots that flicker between light and darkness.

Scintillating Scotomas are not usually permanent. They can indicate a more serious health condition.

Learn more about scintillating Scotomas to help you determine what is causing it. Also, you can discuss your symptoms with your doctor.

What’s a scintillating Scotoma?

Scintillating Scotomas can appear in the same way as other types of scotomas. They may appear as dots or blind areas. Scotomas can smear or obscure your vision, but they’re not bits of dirt or dust that have landed in the eye.

Scotomas, however, are caused by neurological signals that travel from your eye to the brain. These neurological signals to your brain can cause blind spots or “glitches” in the way you see the world.

Scotomas, also known as the aura or a visual phenomenon that is quite common, are a form of. Scintillating Scotomas can appear wavy or alternately grow from dark to light again. The edges of the spot that you see are often jagged.

You may experience headache pain along with scintillating or throbbing scotomas. Or, you might not feel any pain at all. Scintillating Scotomas can occur before or after a migraine or due to an underlying condition such as glaucoma and multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Is MS causing scintillating scotomas?

Scintillating Scotomas have been linked to MS. MS can cause inflammation of the optic nerve, particularly in young women.

Scintillating Scotomas can be caused by inflammation or pressure on the optic nerve. But scintillating Scotomas does not necessarily mean you have MS.

What causes a scintillating Scotoma?

Cortical spreading depression is the most common cause of scintillating scotomas. This is abnormal electrical activity in your brain. These electrical impulses could be caused by high blood pressure, inflammation or hormonal fluctuations.

These health conditions are associated with scintillating Scotomas.

  • Migraine with Aura
  • Visual or ocular migraine with or without headache pain
  • seizure
  • stroke
  • MS
  • glaucoma
  • stress
  • Head injury
  • Food allergies
  • hypertension
  • pregnancy
  • preeclampsia

If you’re pregnant

If you’re pregnant, don’t ignore scotoma symptoms. Hormonal changes such as those that occur during pregnancy can trigger scotomas. You may experience migraines for the first time in your pregnancy.

Scintillating Scotomas may also be a sign of severe preeclampsia. Scotomas can be caused by high blood pressure in pregnancy. 25% suffer from severe preeclampsia.

How are scintillating Scotomas treated?

Scintillating Scotomas usually don’t need treatment. The blind spot should resolve itself in most cases within an hour.

You can relieve mild symptoms by lying down, closing your eyes, drinking water and taking an over-the-counter pain reliever such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Your doctor may recommend treatment options if you experience scotomas frequently due to migraines or other underlying conditions. These treatment options include:

  • Anti-epileptic medication that can be used to treat neurological symptoms
  • Antidepressants can be used to reduce your migraine risk by lowering your serotonin level.
  • Beta-blockers can be used to relax blood vessels

 

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