The true impact of the phrase “migraine relief” is only fully understood by those who suffer the pounding pain. For them, they can turn their attention to a new health breakthrough in the field of such pain relief. A study has found that precision tinted lenses can help limit the impact of migraines.
Such special glasses have been used widely to reduce visual perceptual distortions in poor readers, and are increasingly used for migraine sufferers. Until now, the science was unclear. But researchers just uncovered a nice dose of health news. It shows how coloured glasses work to normalize the brain. When migraine sufferers saw intense patterns, they had abnormal brain activity. But the tinted lenses considerably reduced the effect.
They honed in on specific visual stimuli known to trigger migraines. These patterns give the illusion of shape, colour and movement. Before the brain imaging, each person was tested and prescribed precision ophthalmic tints (POTs). Past studies have suggested that some 42% of migraine with aura sufferers saw their migraine frequency cut in half when they wore POTs.
The new study used MRI exams to see what happened in the brains of the patients when they were exposed to the stressful patterns, while wearing POTs. Compared to other types of glasses, the POT lenses led to a 70% reduction in discomfort. In fact, the special glasses affected multiple elements of brain activity related to migraines.
What seems the case is that responses to specific stimuli like the patterns is different from the light sensitivity that migraine suffers report during a painful attack. Understanding this more, the researchers report, could yield new treatments to prevent migraines in the first place.
If your life is limited by the effects of migraine, speak to your doctor about the possibility of special glasses to reduce discomfort.