Visual Snow

Visual Snow is a chronic, neurological condition that can manifest with dramatic visual symptoms. These include colored or black and white spots and dots in vision that maybe transient or constant. Patients may describe floaters, afterimages and starry vision.

It is disconcerting to sufferers and often related to other sensory sensitivities such as hearing, and proprioception. There are often light sensitivity, cognitive processing and mental health effects to accompany the static. Migraines are commonly associated with this condition and symptoms can exacerbate with how you feel and with stress.

Case reports have been sporadic for 30 years, however visual snow has been more commonly described by eyecare providers in the last 10 years. The causal mechanisms are not well understood, but thought to involve the sensory filtering centres in the brain.

A good resource for patients to learn more about this condition is the Visual Snow Initiative, a collaboration of vision scientists, neurologists, neuro ophthalmology and optometrists.

Sufferers may find their light sensitivity symptoms lessened via tinted lenses, although that is not universal. This condition may or may not be associated with functional vision problems, it is often considered neurological in origin. Vision therapy can be considered in the case of binocular vision problems.

It is important to thoroughly rule out eye pathology as symptoms can mimic other eye health conditions and to notify relevant medical practitioners to ensure comprehensive care.