Understanding Charles Bonnet Syndrome

8. What to Do When Suffering a CBS Hallucination

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in the United Kingdom provides the following suggestions on how to deal with a CBS vision or hallucination:

1. When a hallucination starts, hold your eyes open and look from left to right for 15 to 30 seconds without moving your head. If the hallucination continues, rest for a few seconds and try again for another 15 to 30 seconds.
2. If the hallucinations have not diminished or stopped after four or five periods of looking left and right for 15 to 30 seconds, the exercise is unlikely to work, and you can stop.
3. Standing up or moving can stop the hallucinations, as can looking directly at the image, rolling your eyes, or blinking rapidly.