The depiction of migraine visual aura on the internet

Abstract

Introduction The most common and multifaceted migraine aura symptoms are visual disturbances. Health information is one of the most popular topics on the internet but the quality and reliability of publicized information is unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze images of migraine aura on Google to determine the frequency of correct presentations of visual aura and distribution of visual aura phenotypes. Methods Two authors screened the 100 highest indexed migraine aura related images on Google. The content of the images was categorized into elementary visual symptoms. Results Forty out of 100 images were accurate representations of visual migraine aura. Such images included 31 different visual aura phenotypes. The majority had more than one elementary visual symptom (median 2, IQR 1–3), most commonly “bean-like” forms (45%), zigzag lines (40%), and foggy/blurred vision (33%). Discussion Forty percent of images were accurate portrayals of visual migraine aura symptoms, but these presented limited phenotypes. The information derived from the internet photos may hinder the effective recognition of aura symptoms. Thus, there is a need to provide a more comprehensive representation of visual migraine aura symptoms on the internet.