When med student Kelvin Fiagbe first began posting medical-related videos on TikTok he likely didn’t imagine that his 15-second clips would average over 20 million likes and counting.
Among his most popular are videos the Ghanese-native bundled into an ongoing series he calls ‘How People See.’ These TikToks provide his vast audience with a glimpse into how individuals with different health conditions view the world, and they’re nothing short of eye-opening. Take a look for yourself!
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Cataracts.
As indicated in the video, a person with cataracts experiences vision that is best described as foggy or blurry.
This fogginess, according to the Canadian Association of Optometrists , develops over time as a normally clear lens becomes cloudy.
The blurriness can be contained to small spots which are easily managed. Or they can develop into large areas that obstruct vision.
In the latter case, if glasses no longer help with the situation, surgical removal of cataracts may be needed.
Double vision.
Double vision, also referred to as diplopia , is when a person sees two images while looking at one object.
According to TikTokers who live with diplopia, the 15-second video does quite a good job at allowing others to experience their double vision, which can understandably be extremely disorienting.
“YES! People finally see what us DV people see!” shares meme _2o21.
Eye Floaters.
Just as their name suggests, eye floaters take the appearance of dark shapes that float across your vision. They can be spots, squiggles, or even cobweb-like threads.
Much like the TikTok video reveals, these floaters can be quite distracting. But fortunately, as the National Eye Institute states, eye floaters tend to come and go without requiring any treatment.
Visual Snow.
Visual snow syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that causes individuals to see tiny flickering dots that resemble television static across their vision.
But this disturbing static isn’t the only symptom that comes with a diagnosis of visual snow. The syndrome can also cause light sensitivity and impair night vision, among other visual issues.
That’s why when Kelvin Fiagbe posted this video, those with visual snow were quick to point out that his depiction wasn’t all that accurate.
“I have visual snow…I’m seeing it as I type this message…it’s [sic] looks absolutely nothing like that. Looks like TV static,” writes TikToker kohdi.io in the video’s comment section.
Dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a learning disability that occurs when reading, as well as sometimes writing and speaking. And for many, this TikTok that depicts the disability fell short in making others see the world from that of a dyslexic person.
“I have dyslexia and that is not how that works at all,” shares user thebarney119.
While this may be true for the TikToker, another user was quick to explain that the severity of dyslexia can vary from person to person.
“There are many different types of dyslexia like I line jump and don’t see words in the sentence,” writes dannyarrow2. “Yes some people do see things like this.”
Glaucoma.
“I have glaucoma and it’s almost like that but more blurry,” writes TikTok user ruza.pustinjska who shared that they have the disease in one of their eyes.
There are several types of glaucoma, but the most common is open-angle glaucoma which is thought to be caused by fluid in an eye not draining fast enough.
This then puts pressure on the optic nerve leading to potential blindness if the pressure continues for a lengthy period of time.
Hyperopia.
“Hyperopia is a condition where we see stuff far away but not close,” adds Fiagbe in the comments of his video.
Anyone with glasses will likely recognize hyperopia by its more common name — farsightedness . The condition is caused by the eye not being able to bend rays of light correctly.
Instead of light hitting the eye’s retina in normal vision, hyperopia is the result of light that hits just beyond the retina.
Myopia.
If hyperopia is farsightedness then it only makes sense that myopia is nearsightedness .
Instead of people seeing objects more clearly from afar than when close, the condition of myopia causes the eyes to see close objects much more precisely compared to those that are much further away.
The blurriness that results in light rays hitting in front of the retina is depicted quite well according to TikTok users who have the condition.
“I have myopia and to tell how hard it is, I can’t basically see A THING from 10 cm away,” shares user that_guy_from_tik_tok.
Schizophrenia.
This video shares a glimpse into how someone living with schizophrenia sees the world. The chronic brain disorder comes with a range of symptoms which, according to the American Psychiatric Association , can include hallucinations, disorganized speech, and trouble thinking.
Of course, the severity of schizophrenia differs from person to person so this simulation that provides a visual representation of all these symptoms isn’t accurate for every individual with the disorder.
“I have it, it’s kinda like this, I’m assuming it’s different for everyone, but my voices don’t echo,” shares TikTok user halioweeb.
Migraines with aura.
According to the American Migraine Foundation , an aura is “a series of sensory disturbances that happen shortly before a migraine attack.”
The disturbances can take on several appearances, like sparks, dots, flashes, or even zig zags which are depicted in the TikTok video.
Blindness to the green light.
There are several types of color blindness and deuteranopia, which causes a reduced sensitivity to green light, is the most common.
According to Color Blind Awareness , people who have deuteranopia “live in a world of murky greens where blues and yellows stand out.”
Furthermore, they tend to be unable to distinguish browns, oranges, reds, and of course, shades of green. This TikTok provides a glimpse into what deuteranopes experience.
Blindness to red light.
Protanopia, a reduced sensitivity to red light, is another type of color blindness.
Much like deuteranopia, individuals with protanopia have a hard time distinguishing reds, browns, greens, and oranges. Instead, they see yellow and blue, which both stand out to them the most.
While this TikTok gives people who can see all colors a chance to experience color blindness, it wasn’t so useful to those who have protanopia.
“I’m colorblind and see no difference in these and I’m triggered now,” writes TikToker chalridemeloi in the comments section of the 15-second video.
Blindness to blue and yellow light.
The last type of color blindness that affects specific hues is tritanopia, a reduced sensitivity to the colors blue and yellow.
Unlike deuteranopia and protanopia, people who have this impaired blue and yellow vision are able to easily distinguish reds and greens.
The TikTok video provides a comparison between what a person who isn’t colorblind sees versus what a tritanope does.
Diabetic Retinopathy.
Given that ‘diabetic’ is in its name, it comes as no surprise that this eye condition, which affects blood vessels in the retina, occurs in people who have diabetes.
Diabetic Retinopathy can often go unnoticed at first. But as the condition progresses, an individual may begin to see floating spots or cobweb-like threads as blood vessels in the retina bleed into the center of the eye — known as the vitreous.
As the video indicates, these floating opaque shapes can severally obstruct a person’s vision.
Nystagmus.
“We don’t actually see things shaking, by the way, our eyes just looks [sic] like they’re shaking, it’s more not being able to see movement very well,” writes user aguakatz in the comment section of the video.
The TikToker isn’t the only person with the involuntary condition who argues that this depiction of the side-to-side rhythmic movements of the eyes isn’t very accurate.
Another user also shared their experience with nystagmus, which differs completely from the video, saying: “I have it but my actual eyeballs shake but my vision is completely still.”
