Hallucinations, you may have heard this word many times but have you ever thought, What are hallucinations? What causes Hallucinations? And What are the treatments for Hallucinations? Said by physiatrist from the best hospital in Hyderabad



Ok, Don’t get too confused by the above questions. In this article, we will discuss these questions.



What are Hallucinations?



Hallucination is an experience involving the apparent perception of something not present. In other words, they are imaginary experiences that appear real but created by our mind.



Hallucinations involve hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling, or even tasting things that are not real. However, auditory hallucinations, hearing voices or other sounds that have no physical source, are the most common type.

For example, you might hear a voice that no one hears or you might see an image that is not real.



There are many types of Hallucinations that mentioned below:



1. Auditory Hallucination:



Auditory Hallucinations are the most common type of hallucination. In this, you may hear someone's voices or sounds that actually do not exist and no one else hears.



For example, you might hear the sound of walking in a room or you might hear a voice when some music is playing on the radio.



2. Visual Hallucination:



Visual Hallucination is the second most common type of hallucination. In this, you may see things that aren’t real.

The hallucination may be objects, person, patterns,colors or lights.



For example, you may see a person walking in the room where no one else does.



3. Olfactory Hallucination:



In this type of hallucination, you might smell something when no one else does and that has no physical source.

This type of hallucination includes the smells which you like such as flowers or fragrance. This type of Hallucination is less common than visual and auditory.



For example,you might smell some unpleasant smell when you wake up at midnight.

And you might smell food dishes which has no physical source.



4. Gustatory Hallucination: best hospital in Hyderabad



In this type of hallucination involves your sense of taste. You have a taste in your mouth that has no source.

Most common tastes who have gustatory hallucination taste unpleasant or strange taste (simply in terms of bitter, sour, sweet, disgusting, etc).

However, they can also be described in more specific terms such as chloroform, charcoal, tobacco, rusty iron, blood, sperm, bile, garlic, grilled, peanuts, oysters, and mussels.



5. Tactile Hallucination:



This type of hallucination, you might feel the touch movements in your body when you’re not.

This can include a feeling of bugs crawling all over you or under your skin. And sometimes you even feel that someone is touching your body.

This type of hallucination rarely occur in bipolar disorder.



The above mentioned are 5 types of Hallucinations. Now, let’s discuss their causes.



Causes:

● Schizophrenia

This schizophrenia is a mental disorder which affects the ability to think, feel and behave. And it is characterized by abnormal behavior, strange speech, and a decreased ability to understand reality.



Other symptoms may include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, hearing voices that do not exist, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and lack of motivation.



More than 70% of people with this illness gets visual hallucination and rest of them gets auditory hallucination and most some people can smell or taste which has no physical source.



● Parkinson's disease

The disease is named after a British physician, James Parkinson, who first described it in “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy” in 1817.

Parkinson’s disease slowly damages the central nervous system. The central nervous system is made up of the brain and spine.

This disease makes the brain to not function and it can make some people even paralyzed.



Most people with this disease see the things which are not real or not seen by anyone.



● Alzheimer's disease

This disease simply destroys memory and other important brain functions. They cause changes in the brain that causes hallucinations.

Hallucinations are more likely to happen when you're in an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s disease.



● Substance use

Using substance is the common cause of hallucinations in more people. For example, when a person drinks too much alcohol or take drugs, he usually see things or hears a sound which are not real.



● Lack of Sleep

Even not getting even sleep can cause hallucinations. If you’re haven’t slept enough for more days, you're more likely to be prone to hallucinations.



It’s also possible to experience hallucinations right before falling asleep, known as hypnagogic hallucinations, or right before waking up from sleep, known as hypnopompic hallucinations.( source: https://www.healthline.com/health/hallucinations )



● Migraines

Some people who are having migraine (headache) can be prone to hallucinations. They usually have a visual hallucinations like seeing a change in color or multicolored crescent of light.





Treatment for Hallucinations: best hospital in Hyderabad

If you figure out the cause of hallucinations, your doctor will find out the best treatment for problem.

● Counseling

Going to counseling with the doctor will be a good thing for you if your hallucinations are caused by a mental disorder.

Speaking to a counselor can help you to get better clarity of what's happening in you.

He/she can provide you a best treatment for getting out of this problem(hallucinations).



● Medication

Treatment for your hallucinations will depend entirely on their underlying cause. For example, if you’re hallucinating due to severe alcohol withdrawal, your doctor might prescribe medication that helps calm down your nervous system.

However, if hallucinations are caused by Parkinson’s disease in a person with dementia, this same type of medication may not be beneficial, and other medications may be used.

An accurate diagnosis is very important for treating the condition effectively.

(https://www.healthline.com/health/hallucinations)