Charles Bonnet syndrome: what it is, symptoms and treatment

Charles Bonnet syndrome: what it is, symptoms and treatment

Health

The syndrome of Charles Bonnet is a condition that generally occurs in people who lose all or part of their vision and is characterized by the emergence of complex visual hallucinations, which are more frequent upon awakening, and can last from a few minutes to hours, causing the person to become confused and have difficulty, in some cases, in understanding whether these hallucinations are real or not.

Hallucinations occur in elderly and psychologically normal people and are generally related to geometric shapes, people, animals, insects, landscapes, buildings or repeated patterns, for example, and can be in color or black and white.

The syndrome of Charles Bonnet There is no cure and it is still not known for sure why these hallucinations appear in people with vision problems. Since it causes hallucinations, many people with this type of change usually seek help from a psychologist, but ideally the syndrome should be treated with guidance from an ophthalmologist.

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What are the symptoms

Symptoms that may appear in people with Syndrome Charles Bonnet These are the appearance of hallucinations of geometric shapes, people, animals, insects, landscapes or buildings, for example, which can last from a few minutes to hours.

What does the diagnosis consist of?

Diagnosis usually consists of a physical assessment and a dialogue with the patient to describe the hallucinations. In some cases, an MRI may be performed which, if the person suffers from Charles Bonnetallows you to exclude other neurological problems that also have hallucinations as a symptom.

How the treatment is carried out

There is still no cure for this syndrome, but treatment can provide a better quality of life. In some cases, the doctor may prescribe medications, such as those used to treat epilepsy, such as valproic acid, or Parkinson’s disease.

Furthermore, when the person is having a hallucination, they should change position, move their eyes, stimulate other senses, such as hearing, through music or audiobooks and reduce stress and anxiety.