Migraine aura: what it is and what to track
Aura is a wave of temporary, fully reversible neurological symptoms — most often visual, sometimes sensory or affecting speech — that can arrive before or alongside a migraine headache. It can be unsettling the first time it happens. Logging aura won't stop it, but a dated record of when it starts, how long it lasts and what form it takes gives a clinician something far more useful than a half-remembered description.
Why aura happens in migraine
The International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3) describes aura as one or more fully reversible symptoms that develop gradually and usually last between 5 and 60 minutes. The leading explanation, described by the American Migraine Foundation, is a slow wave of changing electrical and chemical activity spreading across the surface of the brain — which is why visual aura often drifts or expands over minutes rather than switching on instantly. Visual aura is the most common form; some people also get tingling that spreads up an arm, or trouble finding words. Aura commonly precedes the headache but can overlap with it.
What logging aura's timing reveals
Because aura unfolds over minutes and then fades, it's easy to misremember afterwards. A dated log of when aura began, how long it lasted, what type it was, and whether a headache followed shows a clinician the sequence of your attacks rather than a single day's recollection. That timing detail is part of how migraine with aura is distinguished from other causes — but Temple only records the pattern for your appointment; it doesn't interpret or diagnose it.
What's worth recording
Note the date and time aura started, roughly how long it lasted, the type (visual zig-zags or blind spots, tingling, speech changes), and whether a headache came after. Keep it light enough to sustain — a few taps per episode. If aura is new for you, lasts much longer than an hour, or comes with weakness on one side or slurred speech, treat that as a reason to seek medical advice promptly rather than only logging it.
Temple logs each aura in one tap — its type, timing and whether a headache followed — and turns months of episodes into a clear record for your next appointment.
Common questions
- Is aura the same thing as the migraine headache?
- No. Aura is a separate phase of temporary neurological symptoms that can come before or with the head pain, and some attacks have aura without much headache at all. Recording them separately — aura timing versus headache timing — is exactly what makes a diary useful to a clinician.
- How long should a migraine aura last?
- ICHD-3 describes typical aura as developing over minutes and lasting up to about an hour. Aura that is new, lasts far longer, affects only one eye, or comes with one-sided weakness or speech loss is worth urgent medical advice rather than simply noting in a diary.