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Charles Bonnet Syndrome

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The Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is a common condition among people who have lost their sight. The syndrome causes people who have lost their vision to hallucinate, to see people and things that are not actually there. People who have CBS may have lost partial or all of their vision due to an eye condition, such as age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma or diabetic disease. The elderly tend to have higher rates of CBS as many of them tend to have age related eye disease or problems which can cause the onset of CBS. Younger individuals may develop CBS as any eye condition that causes the loss of sight can trigger CBS. In 1760 the Swiss philosopher, Charles Bonnet, became concerned when his 87 year old grandfather Charles …show more content…

The brain is merely attempting to compensate for a shortage of visual stimuli. In CBS the retina cells no longer receive and relay visual images to the brain, due to eye disease or damage to the optic pathways, the visual system begins creating its own images. In other words, when the visual cells in brain stop getting information they compensate for no information coming in and they make up images. The stored imagines in the brain are what we call hallucinations. One’s brain can sometimes fill in the gaps by releasing new imagines, patterns, or old pictures that the brain has …show more content…

Individuals who experience hallucinations from CBS tend not to talk to family or friends about what they are experiencing. CBS support groups can provide an opportunity for individuals with CBS to share experiences and support one another. The support group provides CBS suffers with information about CBS; instruction in relaxation methods to better cope with images/illusions; ongoing emotional support; and an opportunity for sharing experiences that can help decrease social segregation. There are several techniques that one can implement when experiencing a hallucination: (a) closing the eyes and then opening them; (b) moving the eyes in rapid back-and-forth and up-and-down movements; (c) looking away, or walking away, from the images or hallucinations; (d) staring at, or fixating on, the images; (e) turning on a light; (f) concentrating on something else/looking for distraction; (g) approaching and/or hitting at the image or hallucination; and (h) shouting at the image or

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