Are you seeing ghosts? Then it could be CBS
Get yourself to an optician not an exorcist, leading expert warns
If you've seen ghosts or demons you've probably already searched Google for your local exorcist. But it might make more sense to go to an optician, a leading eye expert has warned.
It's could be a sign of a rare syndrome that can affect anyone who has experienced eyesight problems.
Macular degeneration - the leading cause of blindness - causes sufferers to lose their peripheral vision.
However, it, and many other conditions, can also lead to Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) - where people can see any sort of strange hallucination.
Dr David Allamby, a laser eye surgeon at London's Focus Clinic, believes the surreal experience is more than likely a result of the condition.
He added: 'It's not surprising that such sufferers naturally assume that they've had a paranormal or supernatural experience.
'The reality, however, is that what they've seen is just a symptom of something they're not even aware of.
'If you are seeing ghosts, fairies, demons or even aliens, you should seek an eye test immediately before you reach for the crucifix.'
Conditions like glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration cause people to lose their peripheral vision.
But to compensate for the lack of information being received, the brain tries to fill in that gap.
However, what often happens is the brain will insert things that simply aren't there. But many GPs are simply unaware of the link.
It is believed that up to half of all sufferers of macular degeneration - the leading cause of blindness in adults - may experience the hallucinations at some point.
These can be either simple grid patterns, shapes, coloured dots or much more detailed and vivid images.
But the hallucinations, which can last for hours, are not normally of people that the patient knows, or even derived from memories.
Although there’s no medical cure, CBS usually improves on its own if given enough time.
And often those older in years fail to report the 'hallucinations' for fear they'd be diagnosed as a dementia sufferer.
Seeing strange shapes could also be a sign of migraines, side effects from stroke or drug and alcohol use.
One such sufferer is Canadian man Jack Hunter, whose vision has been hampered by glaucoma, cataracts and muscular degeneration.
He recently revealed: 'I saw what appeared to be a woman, and she was mopping the floor.
'All I could see was the profile of a woman standing there and one hand was going in and out negotiating the broom.
'And the more I tried to turn my head to see, I saw less of it. And if I really looked hard, it disappeared altogether.
'I wouldn't say I was afraid. I was a wee bit concerned.'
Judith Potts, founder of Esme's Umbrella, a charity seeking to raise awareness of CBS, said: 'I've worked with GPs who've said to me, "Charles Bonnet syndrome… what's that? I've never heard of it?"
'Yet it's a condition that affects many people in the UK and which simply doesn't attract the attention it deserves.
'Most people suffer in silence because they are afraid of a mental health diagnosis.
'CBS is nothing whatsoever to do with mental issues and entirely due to eyesight deterioration.'