Hi, i'm new here. I found this forum and thread while trying to search for info on a visual effect i've been experiencing since earliest childhood - I may've even been born with it, I don't know.
The effect is almost exactly as tylerparr described his symptoms. I see bright green-yellow colours, fading in and out, whenever I am in a dark room and looking into darkness. It has gotten to the point where there is no escape from the visions; with eyes closed or open, I can't get away from those horrible colours! I just want to see real pure darkness instead of these things that won't go away! They make me nauseous, at worst, and sometimes they keep me from getting enough sleep.
There are also flashing, infinitely-tiled kaleidoscope patterns of red and blue, and also a recurring vision of sparkling stars chained together like bacteria under a microscope, flying upwards like marquees. Some of the patterns look kind of like the gaudy wallpaper tiles that come with windows 95/98, but they've been around long before I ever touched a computer so it's just a coincidence.
I took these visions for granted until about a year ago, and it was puzzling to me (at the age of 6) when I told my mother to "look at those lights in the air!" and she thought I was a bit off in the head... Which is a possibility i'm not going to rule out.
This is obviously something to do with the brain, not just the eyes, but what? An overstimulation of optical nerves? I'm not versed in anything medical so I really do not know. What I do know is, i've developed myopia already (too much computer use) but of course the visions remain completely in focus. What in the world could cause the mind to produce such weird and vaguely artistic visions?
Maybe it is as soran said, that there is a vitamin a deficiency... I don't know.
It would be awesome if someone could point the way to reading materials about this phenomenon... I worry that it might be a symptom of other more serious things, say, brain disorders.
Thanks in advance.
