The term ‘retinal migraine’ is probably often wrongly applied. The primary reason for this is a confusion of nomenclature.

No consensus exists in the neurological and ophthalmological literature on the diagnosis of ‘retinal migraine’.

A diagnosis of ‘retinal migraine’ should be avoided if no typical migraine headache is experienced following the visual symptoms.

It is also a matter of debate whether retinal migraine can lead to permanent visual loss.

If a patient complains of monocular visual loss, he or she may in fact have hemianopia.