Imagine your life seeing the world as if you were constantly in the middle of a snowstorm. Open your eyes and let the landscape be filled with static points like when we watch television up close: a permanent spider web that always accompanies you. Many people experience this disease and are not aware of it. until they have spoken to doctors about this neurological condition.
It’s what health experts have called “visual snow.”
See the world with “interferences”. A study in the United Kingdom estimates that the condition of visual snow can affect up to 3% of the population. The US National Institutes of Health says there is currently no cure for this disease. The main symptom is small continuous spots in the patient’s vision.which differ in color and severity from one person to another. “It’s like a huge blanket of TV interference covering my entire vision 24/7,” patient Paris Haigh explained in this BBC article.
“I can see them even when I close my eyes,” he commented. Other people have described it as a kind of pixelated vision. Others who can filter the points most of the time, but some days are harder than others.
How does it work? “It consists of the constant vision of white and black dots throughout the entire visual field, which simulates vision through a grainy filter or, as many patients refer, simulates vision of the screen of a television that is turned on but not connected to the antenna, also known as white noise,” explained Dr. Enrique Santos Buesofrom the Research Institute of the San Carlos Clinical Hospital in Madrid.
Certain things can make flashing spots more noticeable. For many, This is caused by fatigue, anxiety and headaches.or when they are in very bright or dark environments. The use of cosmetic products can also cause problems. Some wear glasses with orange lenses when they read. While they help with visual snow, they do not eliminate it.
Digital artist Zytomania created this image to show what his own visual snow looks like.
Why does it appear? The condition is caused by a problem in the way the brain handles visual information. Professor Jon Stone, professor of neurology at the University of Edinburgh, has seen several patients with visual snow: “Normally, our brains are good at filtering out visual experiences that we don’t want. This filtering system doesn’t work as well in people with visual snow, probably because parts of your brain’s visual system are overactive in a way that is not useful. It’s a bit like having tinnitus, but from your vision,” he explained.
We are actually at a very early stage. 15 years ago we wouldn’t even be talking about this because no one agreed; visual snow had not even been universally accepted as a “disorder.”
Some suspicions. Peter Goadsby, Professor of Neurology at the Wellcome Trust National Institute for Health Research at King’s College He says he has seen both a 7-year-old boy and 70-year-old men with this problem.. And from all countries. They all describe it the same way. That led Goadsby to conclude that, although it is activated in different ways, there must be a common underlying mechanism.
There is still much to understand but something very important has already been achieved: recognition. “We found that in an area at the back of the brain, there is a particular structure that is more metabolically active and receives greater blood flow in those who suffer from visual snow. That could indicate that that part of the brain is not inhibited enough or too excited,” he detailed.
difficult to detect. According to Visual Snow Initiativea US charity dedicated to visual snow research, approximately 56% of people with the condition are incorrectly diagnosed. For most, the process of obtaining a formal diagnosis was frustrating. Paris spoke to an ophthalmologist and a neurologist about the condition, but felt they didn’t know what it was. “It can feel like a made-up condition when the experts don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
Some are shown a television with white noise and almost all exclaim, “Yes, that’s what it looks like!” And they have been like this all their lives.
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