Nystagmus

is a condition that causes "dancing eyes", involuntary eye movement. It reduces and limits the ability to see, often causing the person to look downwards or sideways in order to focus better.

"One child describes having nystagmus as "like seeing the world in strobes", leaving children struggling to see moving objects and slow to recognise faces."

It is often something people are born with but it can also develop in later life. We are yet to understand how but it is likely due to a gene defect possibly mixed with environmental influences such as heavy smoking and stress.

My friend's daughter has this condition, something she has had from birth.
After the first few weeks and months it became very noticeable that she wasn't using her eyes properly. In fact they were so distant that we were almost certain she would be blind. But she was too young for anyone to be able to tell. So we had to wait until she was a few months older, I think she was around a year old when she had her first official sight appointment. Something my friend's dad paid for privately to ensure we could get answers as soon as possible.

By the time the kid was 2, my friend had learned that her daughter had this condition called Nystagmus and has become somewhat of a pro in knowing all about it and knowing exactly what her daughter needs in order to be just like any other kid. (And oh how amazing she is, so so clever)

The only thing her daughter will need (for the time being) is a walking cane. This is purely for outside use to help her manage curbs so that when she is old enough, she will be able to go out by herself.

An interesting thing to note about this kid is, she absolutely loves drawing and colouring in, she is so quick to learn, so clever, so interested in everything, particularly Peppa Pig (http://www.peppapig.co.uk/ - dont ask... i honestly dont know!)

(The first time she learnt about using different colours for different shapes, and tried to stay in the lines as best she could. - Made fun by imagining, that as she coloured the characters in, they came to life (i was doing silly voice overs for each colour, it really encouraged her though, then her mum gave this picture to me as a gift and it's been on my wall ever since :) )

Anyway, Back to Nystagmus ...

With a condition that makes seeing difficult to such varied extents, it's so interestingly infuriating that we will never know exactly how this kid sees the world. Her hearing is enhanced, she hears sounds that you wouldn't normally pick up on, how does this build the image of her world in her mind? This is something we are still waiting for Science to help with, but it's fascinating to think...?

At present, in the UK at least, we know of no cure for Nystagmus.

Often it leaves each eye with long or short sighted problems so glasses can be prescribed to help with that part of the condition.

When people tilt their head to get a better focus angle with their eyes, that focus is called a "Null" point. If the angle is so severe it causes physical discomfort, the eyes can be operated on to be adjusted to relieve the "null" point as best as possible. However this still does nothing to contribute towards improving the nystagmus.

I recently volunteered for a depth perception study at Leicester University

(https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/estates/news/completed/ctrmed)

I found out that they were doing this study in order to understand more about Nystagmus and other sight conditions. By understanding how they perceive depth and movement of objects compared to normal sighted people, they can figure out which parts of the brain are active more or less, and where in comparison etc.

This leads to a deeper understanding of how our eyes and brain operate. One discovery of interest to me what finding out what frequency our brains operate on and why they differ, the found that people with schizophrenic type disorders have a 9Hz frequency at which they take in and process light/sound etc) compared to normal people having around 10Hz processing frequencies, and the extreme rigid organised type minds out there operate around 11Hz.
There is much to be gained from studies and their variables such as these. Especially in understanding mental and personality differences.

What that means for science next in this area I'm yet to learn. But it seems interesting how much our brain controls our sight and how much of what does it allow us to intake about the worlds around us.

The Lens Idea

Scientists are currently working on developing a lens which can be used to retrain the eye to see and focus better. Current lens solutions out there are pretty much like a pirates eye patch.
They measure which eye is the strongest, and cover up the weakest eye so that all brain power is put towards processing the best eye which gives it better chance for improvement....Or is it that they cover the strong eye to improve the weak eye but that makes the stronger eye get weak... either way, one eye or the other is losing out!

Now, there are people are working on creating a digital lens. One version of this is called "free-form," "a revolutionary digital manufacturing process that uses computer-aided design and surfacing to create high-level, customized eyeglass lenses with your unique prescription."
Read More -> https://www.vsp.com/free-form-lenses.html

This will train the weakest side of the brain to process/act like it's companion, strengthening the eyes and relevant brain areas that are associated with processing sight. As the eyes start to improve, you fiddle around with the lens, pushing each eye into a sort of training regime, and there's a realistic potential that this could improve sight of these currently incurable problems, enough to allow that person to operate normally in the world, maybe with the need for corrective glasses but nothing more than the average sighted person in the world.... it's an interesting development for anyone with sight difficulties.

And who knows what else people are researching right now. Whatever conditions you have, always hold hope that we live in such a fine technological age now, the possibilities are often endless. It is just a matter of time :)