By the Grace of God... part 1: Snowy days for me.

I wanted talk for a moment about one of the challenges that I deal with every single day. It is something that is not wildly known. It is a rare condition called "Visual Snow". From this point on I will be referring to Visual Snow as "VS". Which is the short hand those of us in the Visual Snow Support FB group often use.

So the first question that I get asked when I mention VS is: What is it? Eye on Vision Foundation explains that: "Visual snow (VS) is the persisting visual symptom of seeing snow or television-like static across their visual field. The snow and static tends to be worse in the dark, but can be seen in all lighting conditions."

I would like to think of VS as a fine mist that I see every day that is in a state of constant motion. For me it is very bad at night. Bright sunny days I am OK with for the most part. But cloudy or over cast days then to get to me because I can see the snow more. While it doesn't limit my over all vision. It can be more than distracting. More so at night. Those of us who suffer with VS also deal with a lot of other issues that are often interconnected. EOVF has a lot more information on the matter. I'm going to focus on the two primary side issues that I deal with.

Afterimage are pretty much an echo of what I had just seen. Often times connected to a source of light. Looking though a window. Or even a light. When I pull my eyes away I see a copy of it. My afterimages are of the negative kind. Doesn't matter where I am at. Happens more times during a day than I care to count. Annoying but by no means the end of the word. The times when it bothers me the most is when I'm looking at Fr during one of his homilies and pull my eyes away and get an afterimage of the *entire* alter with him. Fills up my vision for a few moments. That's when I get freaked out the most.

I would say other than the VS itself. The other primary connected issue is extreme light sensitivity that I have. If you ever see me outside even on overcast days. I will 9 times out 10 have a pair of sunglasses on. Light and my eyes do not get along. At times being outside with out my sunglasses on can be very uncomfortable if not out right painful. Also means the brighter the light source the more issue I will have. LED's stand out for me. As do fireworks. At night it is also one of the reasons why I no longer drive. My night vision is bad enough as it is. But on coming headlights have caused me out right pain in my eyes.

VS is not a condition of the eyes itself. But more like an issue of the connection between the brain and the eye. It is pretty much the same concept of those who deal with chronic tinnitus. Instead of hearing extra information. I see extra information. In fact many who have VS also have tinnitus. Which includes me.  I've had a severe form of tinnitus since I was an adult. (I had it when I was a child but not to the extent that I do now). The VS is only been an issue with in the last five or six years or so.

VS effects me every day on different levels. While I can see normally and in fact still have my drivers licence. I have chosen not to drive. I don't feel safe behind the wheel. More so at night. I still ride my bike. But even then I take extra care. Once in a while I will have both a bad tinnitus attack (where the noise is worse than normal) and a VS attack. Which can fire up anxiety to a very high level.

If you have any questions about this post or anything that has been posted. Feel free to ask. Now that I have set the foundation. My next post will much clearer.

-jm