Important medical disclaimer
Educational tools only — not medical care
Migraine Trail is not a healthcare provider, medical service, or medical device. These tools use information you enter and simplified educational rules. They may be incomplete or wrong and cannot examine you.
- Results do not diagnose, rule out, confirm, or predict any disease, headache type, trigger, emergency, or personal medical risk.
- Do not start, stop, combine, delay, or change a medicine or treatment—and do not delay professional care—because of a result.
- Labels such as “pattern,” “alignment,” “score,” “threshold,” “risk,” or “urgency” are educational summaries, not clinical findings or probabilities.
Discuss symptoms and decisions with a licensed healthcare professional who knows your history. For a child, involve a parent or guardian and an appropriate pediatric clinician.
If symptoms may be an emergency, stop using this site. Call your local emergency number or seek emergency care now. Never wait for or rely on a tool result.
Migraine Aura Pattern Checker
Compare visual, sensory, and speech symptoms with recognized typical aura timing and progression features.
Migraine aura can resemble stroke or TIA.
Sudden weakness, speech difficulty, or vision loss needs emergency care—even if it resolves. Check the safety statements before comparing an aura pattern.
Record what happened, in order
Log each aura symptom, its start and end time, progression, headache timing, and treatment response for a clearer clinical history.
Typical migraine aura features
Typical aura can include fully reversible visual, sensory, and/or speech/language symptoms without motor, brainstem, or retinal symptoms. Headache may follow, occur during the aura, or not occur at all.
Visual
Often shimmering, flashing, zigzag, or expanding visual-field symptoms seen through both eyes.
Sensory
Pins and needles or numbness that may spread gradually along one side.
Speech/language
Temporary difficulty finding, producing, reading, or understanding words.
Criteria and safety sources
Frequently asked questions
How long does typical aura last?
Each individual typical aura symptom generally lasts 5–60 minutes. If several symptoms occur one after another, the total episode can last longer.
Can aura occur without headache?
Yes. A headache within 60 minutes is one recognized feature, but typical aura without headache also exists.
Is visual aura in one eye or both?
Typical visual aura originates in the brain and affects the visual field of both eyes, even when it seems stronger on one side. Symptoms truly limited to one eye need eye and medical evaluation.
When should I call emergency services?
Call immediately for sudden facial or arm weakness, trouble speaking, sudden vision loss, seizure, collapse, severe confusion, or a sudden extremely painful headache—even if symptoms improve.
Headache Type Checker
Compare migraine and tension-type pain patterns.
Printable Migraine Diary
Record headache and neurological symptoms.
Migraine With Aura Guide
Read more about aura types and timelines.
Private by design: this comparison runs entirely in your browser. Your symptoms are not sent to us.