Mysterious Medical Condition: Woman Reported Seeing Dragon Faces Everywhere
A 52-year-old woman has reportedly been seeing faces of dragons all around her. In July 2011, the woman whose identity has not been revealed decided to seek professional medical help for the problem she had been struggling with throughout her life.
The woman stated that she would see dragons' faces at regular intervals. She would even see the faces of the human beings morphing into dragon faces. She described the horrifying faces: they were black and had pointed ears. She explained that they grew long and their snouts were protruding. Similar to those seen in the movies, the dragons she saw had large eyes, which were "in bright yellow, green, blue, or red", and reptile-like skin.
She reported seeing the faces not only while looking at people but also on walls, emerging from computer screens and even in plug points in the house. When the room gets completely dark, she stated that she saw many dragon faces appearing. She basically saw them everywhere.
Doctors were unsure as to what triggered this type of hallucination. They conducted several tests on her. The results of her neurological examinations, electroencephalogram (EEG) and MRI scans were all normal, and nothing hinted towards the disorder. Blood test results were normal as well.
The cause of the hallucinations could not be deciphered, but the woman was given treatment and is now free of the horrific hallucinations. Doctors used a conventional anti-dementia medication, rivastigmine, to treat her. This helped solve the problem but it did not provide any sort of reasoning or understanding to the medical condition.
According to Discover Magazine, the hallucinations had previously taken a toll on her social and professional life. She shared that she could not stick on to one job due to the dragon faces that she everywhere. It strained her relationships with people around her as well. Hence, the medication and treatment tremendously aided her recovery. She is now able to mingle and interact with people normally. She has also been able to move on with a stable professional life and her relationships with her colleagues have also improved.
Her medical case report is published in The Lancet: Prosopometamorphopsia and facial hallucinations. The study was conducted by a group of researchers including the renowned Oliver Sacks.