A peculiar “warning” sensation that precedes or marks the onset of a migraine attack or of a seizure in epilepsy.
A migraine attack may be preceded by a feeling of elation, excessive energy, or drowsiness.
Thirst or a craving for sweet foods may develop.
Migraine may be heralded by flashing light before the eyes, blurred or tunnel vision, or difficulty in speaking.
There may also be weakness, numbness, or tingling in 1 half of the body.
An epileptic aura may be a distorted perception, such as a hallucinatory smell or sound.
One type of attack (in people with temporal lobe epilepsy) is often preceded by a vague feeling of discomfort in the upper abdomen and followed by a sensation of fullness in the head.
The peculiar feeling which persons who are subject to epileptic seizures (see EPILEPSY) experience just before the onset of an attack. It may be a sensation of a cold breeze, a peculiar smell, a vision of some animal or person, or an unde?nable sense of disgust. An aura gives warning that a ?t is coming and may enable a place of safety or seclusion to be reached. It may also occur as a precursor to a MIGRAINE headache.
(Greek) Gentle breeze; in mythology, the goddess of breezes Auria, Auriel, Auriana, Aurah, Aurea, Auri, Aurya, Aure
n. the forewarning of an epileptic or migrainous attack. An epileptic aura (sometimes known as the preictal phase, because it precedes the main *ictus or seizure) may take many forms, such as an odd smell or taste. The migrainous aura may affect the patient’s eyesight with visual phenomena, such as fortification spectra (zigzag lines) or scotomas (black holes in the visual field), but it may also result in pins and needles, weakness of the limbs, or *aphasia.
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