Thread: Visual Snow

Originally Posted by jmp

Anyone else here afflicted with this? I've had it for as long as I can recall.
Basically is it like static on the T.V except in your vision.
This site explains it in more detail; http://www.visualsnow.com/

During the day I can see a static sort of thing on white walls, have these 'floaters' when I look at the sky combined with static and blue balls (which I have been told are white blood cells).
This picture shows what I mean clearly;

This is not so bad as it's more of a mild visual disturbance than a problem, though at night it is different.

At night (read: in the dark) ,and in the evening though it isn't as bad but still worse than day, this minor visual disturbance turns into extreme static causing my ability to see anything to be minimal and there are colours mixed in with the static. This is hard to explain, this paint diagram sort of explains it though the colours aren't as defined and neither is the static.


I get afterimages and burn-in from light when in the dark and ghosting. It is sometimes difficult to watch movies at night, especially when tired.

This wikipedia article also covers it; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_snow

Just wonderin'..

Edit: This is hard to explain, here are some simulations that will help you understand.
http://www.visualsnow.com/examples/simulations/

Yes, i have it every day. I can lay on my bed and look out the window at the roof of my carport and i see millions of those tiny dots floating everywhere. I can look anywhere and when i look at some things i still see millions of those tiny dots. I even see them on my monitor, it's like seeing water drip down the monitor showing the colors from the monitor screen.

http://www.migraine-aura.org/content.../index_en.html

jmp: I would like to ask for your permission to reproduce your posts at the website above (see link above)

jmp : can you tell me your year of birth?

Originally Posted by K-P

http://www.migraine-aura.org/content.../index_en.html

jmp: I would like to ask for your permission to reproduce your posts at the website above (see link above)

jmp : can you tell me your year of birth?

Sure!
1991; 16 now, 17 in couple months.

jmp, thanks for permission and additional info

Do you have a positive family history for migraine? If yes, who in the family is affected?

Did you ever consume hallucinogenic drugs? If yes, when? and did these have an impact on your persistent visual phenomena?

Can you also make illustrations of the other visual you described ( floaters, blue balls, increased starbursts around lights, increased afterimages, diplopia)?

Dear Lucidbulbs, thank you for sending me your survey responses. Please have a look at this webpage where I have summarized your posts (of course, anonymously): http://www.migraine-aura.org/content.../index_en.html Is it right that you had the visual snow/static for as long as you can remember? Thanks, KP

Haha well look at that, when I close my eyes I usually see nothing... literally pitch black, except for really dark smudges of colour. Think dark-neon? But this time, reading about visual snow and what not, I honestly saw sperm-like 'snow' in my right eye while closed. So cool xD

I consider myself healthy, I have no history of drugs and a lot of people in my family are near-sighted.

I see stuff like this all the time, I thought I was messed up or something. Sometimes it's pretty extreme with white flecks plus bursts of color that I can follow in my vision if I don't look at it directly.

Very hard to describe.

I get these and have done all my life. But as I get older (early 40s) they are getting worse. I put this down to time spent looking at a screen close-range. I don't do drugs and don't drink much.

Hello WakeMe, would you participate in the survey below:

1. Name or screen name (optional):

2. Email (optional):

3. Location (optional):

4. Age:

5. Sex:

6. Nationality and Race (optional):

7. Do you have classic migraine (migraine with aura) or common migraine (migraine without aura)? When did it begin?

8. What do you take for your classic or common migraine and does it help?

9. Have you been diagnosed with persistent aura (prolonged migraine aura status)?

10. What is your visual problem and how long does it last?

11. Any other problems that you think might be related?

12. What do you take or do for your vision problem and does it help?

13. Have you found a trigger for your vision problem?

14. What tests have you had and the results?

15. Drug history (pre VS)

16. Drug history (post VS - effect on VS - negative, positive, not at all)

17. Do you have a positive family history for migraine? If yes, who is affected?

18. Other information you want to provide?

Hello BurnedUp, would you participate in the survey above?

i have a big black worm shaped floater in my left eye, sometimes its there but when i look at it too hard it fades away or runs from my central vision

are you sure this visual snow isent pretty normal?
I always had it, especially those floaters, always just thought it was scratches in the eye.
And in sunny days, i see alot of like small light-ish dots, but have been ignoring it since i was 10years old.

Hi people, new to Dream Views and lucid dreaming... I was instantly drawn to this post as i too have this visual distortion... Among other things... It is a symptom of HPPD (hallucinogenic persistent perception disorder) and if any of you have used hallucinogenic drugs in the past then they are probably what caused it... If you also suffer from other visual disturbances (tracers, negative/positive afterimages, pareidolias, geometric distortion, micropsia/macropsia, colour confusion) then it is more than likely that you have HPPD, a lot of helpful information, advice and support is available from this website.

http://www.hppdonline.com/forum/index.php

Hope this info is helpful to some of you.

Take it easy.

Oh yeah I especialy see a lot of static in the dark.

hmmm.... Some thing I would do when little. I would actualy rub my eyes hard and close them tight then put pressure on them with my fisted hands. This would actualy create more static, but I managed to actualy control it and make objects out of them. Man, did I have fun on those boring school lectures doing this. But I think doing this alot when young affected my eye sight now.

This thread reminded me of this Family guy reference

http://video.aol.com/partner/hulu/fa...c0P0GGTn_xjkre

I get that also, especially in the dark - i hate looking around in the dark, for some reason it bothers me and I don't like it. When I look at a clear blue sky i get it also.

Sometimes I get like streaks of colorful dots, real quick and short...not sure what its from.

But eye floaters can be caused by too much masturbation, from what i've read.

I thought everyone had that. I think it's the iron in your blood.

yeah, i have that, except sometimes i get these wierd "spots" in my eyes, where ill see some germs or something swimming around hahahah

lol that's what I see. gets annoying when looking at something white.

Originally Posted by jmp

Anyone else here afflicted with this? I've had it for as long as I can recall.
Basically is it like static on the T.V except in your vision.
This site explains it in more detail; http://www.visualsnow.com/

During the day I can see a static sort of thing on white walls, have these 'floaters' when I look at the sky combined with static and blue balls (which I have been told are white blood cells).
This picture shows what I mean clearly This is not so bad as it's more of a mild visual disturbance than a problem, though at night it is different.

At night (read: in the dark) ,and in the evening though it isn't as bad but still worse than day, this minor visual disturbance turns into extreme static causing my ability to see anything to be minimal and there are colours mixed in with the static. This is hard to explain, this paint diagram sort of explains it though the colours aren't as defined and neither is the static.

I get afterimages and burn-in from light when in the dark and ghosting. It is sometimes difficult to watch movies at night, especially when tired.

This wikipedia article also covers it; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_snow

Just wonderin'..

Edit: This is hard to explain, here are some simulations that will help you understand.
http://www.visualsnow.com/examples/simulations/

I have this all of the time, expecially in dark places, or when I am staring at a large white space. To me the snow looks transparent, although I can still see it. The best way I can describe it would be that it slightly resembles what hair, cells or skin looks like when under a microscope, and it constantly moves around. It *usually* doesn't interfere with my sight because they are, after all, see through. This is why I can only see them well on white walls or in dark places, because there is no background to hide them.

From what I understand visual snow is commonly caused by psychedelic drugs, so I've assumed that they are the cause of my "condition". Has anyone else here who uses or used psychedelics get visual snow?

Originally Posted by spitfire riggz

yeah, i have that, except sometimes i get these wierd "spots" in my eyes, where ill see some germs or something swimming around hahahah

I get that as well. Its a part of the visual snow, and its usually always there with the visual snow, but there are no where near as many of those skinny, somewhat long (when compared to the rest of the snow) "germ-like" things then there are little transparent dots, which are constantly in motion. The germ-like snow stays in one spot, perfectly still until I move my eyes, and the it follows in the direction that I moved my eyes. Its so weird!!

Had to do some research on colour vision for a philosophy class recently and learned that 'floaters' (vague points of distortion that move around as the eye moves; more or less stay in the same spot in the visual field) are often times just bits of the fluid inside your eye that has become more gelatinous then regular, or has slightly crystalized. Floaters is an appropriate term since they correspond to something that actually is floating in the fluid of your eyeball.

I also get visual snow/static, but usually just when it's very dark (say, if the room is just illuminated by the glow from a few digital clock displays) or when I close my eyes. I think it's pretty normal in-and-of-itself, just the degree to which it's noticable that changes between people.

I think that there is a big difference with occasionally seeing 'floaters' (which I am sure everybody has experienced before) and this static vision (which sounds incredibly worrying imo) - I would go to the doctor's asap, personally.

Originally Posted by theyearthreethousand

I think that there is a big difference with occasionally seeing 'floaters' (which I am sure everybody has experienced before) and this static vision (which sounds incredibly worrying imo) - I would go to the doctor's asap, personally.

Well, in my case it is partially drug induced, but I clearly remember seeing visual snow as a toddler. In my opinion most people have some mild form of it (even if they haven't used drugs), but just don't recognize it. All of my friends see it...

If someone has it really bad and has no history of drug use (and gets plenty of sleep, water and food - I think it can also be caused by stress, but I'm not sure), then yes, it could be product of an underlying health problem, and they should get checked out immediately.

ive seen things like that , are they floaters?