OOs should give visual hallucination advice

Eye care practitioners are being urged by two leading bodies to warn their patients with macular degeneration that there is a risk of them developing Charles Bonnet Syndrome (visual hallucinations).

According to new research findings published by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) and The Macular Disease Society this week, as many as 60 per cent of patients with severe vision loss will develop visual hallucinations.

The condition can affect patients with conditions such as macular degeneration and is caused by a lack of visual stimulation, but does not indicate mental dysfunction.

Patients suffering from the hallucinations often believe they are suffering from psychosis or dementia.