Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Camryn Kirkham
What is it?
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is a disorder that affects signals sent from the eyes to the brain. It's a neurological disorder named after the novel written by Lewis Carroll himself, of course. Someone with this syndrome would complain of hallucinations that were auditory, visual, and tactile along with distorted perceptions. Alice in Wonderland makes the patient feel like they are going crazy in a strange world, much like the novel and movie.
Symptoms
- altered body image.
- disproportionate head and hands.
- sizes of objects are perceived wrong.
- migraine
- loses sense of time
- hallucinations
- auditory and tactile perceptions are distorted.
Causes of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
- migraine
- Temporal lobe epilepsy
- Brain Tumors
- use of psychoactive drugs.
- Epstein Barr viral infection
Treatment
There is no proven or effective cure for Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, but there are treatment programs. These include:
- migraine prophylaxis
- migraine diet regimen
- rest
- support groups or discussion groups.
Other Interesting Facts
- Symptoms of this illness can be a warning sign of an oncoming migraine.
- The syndrome is actually named after the scene in the Alice In Wonderland film where Alice shrinks and grows to abnormal sizes repeatedly.
- Another name for the illness is Todd Syndrome, named after John Todd.
- It is thought that Lewis Carroll may have actually had the disease, since he also suffered from severe migraines, and he may have been having an episode while writing the iconic novel.
- Having the illness can put the patients life in danger during episodes of the syndrome.
- this disease is very common in children, and can damage them psychologically, because they believe they are actually going insane.