Teen sees with 'kaleidoscope eyes'

When The Beatles sang about Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and her kaleidoscope eyes, they could have been talking about 19-year-old Danielle Burton.

British teen, Danielle Burton has been diagnosed with Persistent Migraine Aura, where a nerve in the brain is stuck in a constant state of migraine, causing 'visual snow'.

PMA is a medical condition suffered by just twenty people worldwide.

Suffering from PMA is like looking through the lens of a kaleidoscope, where the field of vision is crowded by colourful clouds, zig-zags or blurring.

The condition came on suddenly last October, when Burton, from Portsmouth, thought she was suffering another migraine.

"The next day, it was not any better. I got in the shower but as soon as the water hit my back, my sight went completely," she explained.

After scans revealed no problem with her eyes, Burton was at a loss until a doctor in January diagnosed her with PMA in January.

"I have had [PMA] for six months now and I have got my eyesight back for one hour in that time," she said.

Sometimes she can make out fuzzy shapes and but spends the majority of the time with colours snowing in front of her like "television static."

At times, she is rendered completely blind by purple and blue florescent clouds.

Her symptoms are considered some of the worst in PMA sufferers, as she cannot escape the bright colours, even when her eyes are closed.

"Even when I see, I can't see what a normal person can see. It is television static, there are lots of different colours raining the whole time," she said.

Burton is looking for other people to offer any information about her condition, as doctors have been of limited help.

From all of this, she has gained a newfound appreciation of the wonder of sight.

"I went 19 years of my life being able to see everything and didn't even realise how precious sight is."

via Teen sees with 'kaleidoscope eyes'.

The pathogenesis of this condition is unknown, but I'm betting it is not caused by oral sex.  And speaking of which, ... (smooth segue no?)... you might want to read this to update your education about head cancer.