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Medicinal progress is one of the best things that has happened to us. From the invention of antibiotics to organ transplants, from vaccination to new artificial intelligence techniques changing the ways we spot, examine and cure diseases, it has been making us live longer and healthier.

No wonder medicine has captured our imagination, fueling pop culture with shows like Grey’s Anatomy and making us reevaluate how much we know and don't know about some medical conditions. And Kelvin Fiagbe, a Ghana-based medical student and video creator, has a lot to say about the topic!

Kelvin has been creating educational videos on the most fascinating medical facts and explaining mysterious conditions to his 476K TikTok followers. Recently, he made a whole video series showing how people see with various medical conditions, such as diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma.

@med_kelvin

How people see ##medical ##medicine ##medicineexplained ##education ##learnontiktok ##edutok ##glaucoma

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Jon Steensen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't find it that very desciptive of how it is to experience an aura. I think a more precise description would be to imagine looking at a very colourfull patcwork under stong sunlight for a minute or two. The aura acts like the "after-image" on your retina being superimposed on what you see. It is kind of there and not there at the same time, and not something stationary you can focus on. Another peculiar phenomenom is that your periferal vision just vanishes at the same time. It does not go black, it just does no longer exist. It is like the way you cannot see what is behind your head, but you do not see your head as a black obstacle, that part of the world is just simply not seen.

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Ozacoter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me. I have so much myopia that I cant really read without glasses or even recognice nyself in the mirror without them (obviously i know that its me but i cant see it)

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Bored Panda reached out to Kelvin Fiagbe, the creator of these medical videos that are going viral on TikTok, to find out more about him. Kelvin is a 2nd year physician assistantship student in Ghana.

“I joined TikTok in May 2020. I started with comedy and found out that it wasn't really for me,” he recounted. “So I switched to medical content since I'm already in the medical field. I make medicine-related videos, from rare conditions to how people see, to guessing the name of the medical equipment.”

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Tom Russell
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Oh, squiggly line in my eye fluid. I see you lurking there on the periphery of my vision. But when I try to look at you, you scurry away. Are you shy, squiggly line? Why only when I ignore you, do you return to the center of my eye? Oh, squiggly line, it's alright, you are forgiven."

jon_steensen avatar
Jon Steensen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

you are missing the rings caused by a blodcell shadow on the retina. For me those are the most dominant of the two shapes.

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Dre Mosley
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have floaters, not as bad as in the pic though. I usually don't notice them unless I'm standing still and maybe looking at something like white background or the sky.

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Kathy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I get floaters, they are generally shaped like transparent worms

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Giovanna
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes. And moving all around. In a sunny summer day, it is like being constantly in the middle of thousands of mosquitoes

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Blue of the yams
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh s**t I have a few of those, I always just thought it was some sort of crap left over from times I got in my eye

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B-b-bird
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

does anyone knows is there any corrective procedure for floaters?

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Evil Little Thing
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No. They are literally bits of debris floating in your eyeball. After they stay in one place long enough your brain will ignore them and you won't see them anymore. (Eye floaters are one of the many stupid things the body does that disprove intelligent design.)

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Missy Moo Moo
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Torn my retina and bled into my eye... terrible floaters until the blood dispersed

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Jods
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mine aren’t like this. They’re long with little blobs or knots on them. No central vision in my right eye but I can still see the blasted floaters.

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Suzanne Haigh
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was informed that everyone has this as they become older, I am not there yet but dread it if it is true.

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Jamma
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Suzanne, you are correct that they tend to worsen as the eye ages. It's just life as an organic being, unfortunately. ;)

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JASH80
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

some of us have those constantly - they don't just show up and disappear. The brain learns to overwrite them but whenever I'm tired or a bit dehydrated or looking at a blank wall I can see them all too well - mine are not just lines but combined with grey blotches, which is super annoying when reading a book. The reason for this is my nearsightedness/elongated eyeball which causes the collagen in my eye to clump up and built those clusters. They can be surgically removed by draining the collagen and refilling the eye with artificial collagen but honestly, nope.. way too scared to lose an eye. I've had them lasered 20 yrs ago (-9 dioptries to + 0.25 dioptries) which was great but I just can't get myself to agree to that procedure yet

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Lori
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a lot of these. It's like having sooty cobwebs, constantly floating in your line of vision. Makes it hard to read and to see well while driving.

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Roz Klaiman
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

oh, many look like weeny bugs and specks, I spent an hour one evening chasing a spider - it was a floater that looked just like a tiny spider hanging in front of my field of vision.

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Terri Keller
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I see black dots. They don't bother me too much unless I'm looking at something light colored. I've swatted at a lot of flies that weren't there. 🙄

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Rhonda Beraun
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Woke up one morning with a large black donut shaped floater in one eye. I went in for an exam, just a floater, actually a couple of them in a group. The doctor said nothing to do, just live with it. But did some research and found a study on the active ingredient of pineapple, bromelain, and how it lessens or sometimes eliminates floaters. So I bought some bromelain, 1700mg. Started taking 3 tablets at night (I was told I could take the same mornings as well) 2 months later, the large dark mass has lessened, its still there but smaller and faded to a light grey. So I am making this a permanent addition to my supplements.

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Brenda Pereira
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have them so severe that they interfere with my ability to see. The doctor showed them to me on a picture of the inside of my eye and said that I probably should consider a procedure where they remove the vitreous inside the eyeball and replace it with another substance. I refused the procedure, but am now considering doing it because I cannot do detailed drawings or read due to the interference. Also, because they move, I am always thinking I see a bug or mouse or other larger animal moving in the corner of my eye and it scares the crap out of me repeatedly!

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Sara G
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have floaters, and I also have an optic pit, which looks like a giant version of a floater. When I was a kid, I called it the giant, see through feather in my eye.

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Margaret Colquhoun
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my left eye, I have a perfect diagrammatic euglena, except that mine has two flagella rather than one. Trying to look at it causes it to swim away very convincingly.

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Microwaved Robot
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My floaters never looked like that. Mine were tiny to small black dots that float around.

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Little Panda Bear
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have these. When I was younger, I used to think stuff was falling from the sky...

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Kathy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Having read all the posts, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned flashers. Aren't these common? Flashers are where you have bright, jagged lines across your field of vision, or at the periphery. These are not the same as after images from looking at something bright for too long. There is no obvious cause and theyy go away on their own after some time, but are really annoying while they are there

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Mina
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For me it's more like dark spots, not squiggly lines

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Luis
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my understanding everyone have them! It's supposed to be like the shell of the optic nerve, once "mature" it broke, let the eye start receiving the light and let you see... and the "shells" get inside of the eyeball floating inside for ever.. Isn it?

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Bruce Scheiman
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I haven't ever heard of this. BUT.... From what I'm reading, it sounds like a nightmare. I'm really sorry to those of you, that have to suffer through it so severely

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pebs
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If it's not severe, you get used to it. To me, is most annoying when I look to a white background or at the sky.

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Brandy Grote
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Floaters move, or "float". They aren't static, or even constant. And again, we can see and perceive well with them. It's only when one floats across your field of view that they are noticed, and they rarely disturb, unless there are more or are accompanied by other symptoms.

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Jamma
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Floaters" are just collagen, and people call them floaters when they float, but they can absolutely be fixed as well. There are many types of floaters in different shapes, and they can be an indication of nothing, or of something severe like retinal detachment.

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Solidhog
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I suffer these. Can be annoying when reading black text on a white background. Looking up and down a few times sometimes help move them out of the way. Latest research says eating pineapple helps.

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Shelp
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow, that's super weird. Never heard of that before!

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Zaza
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a different floater, it's like a black mini circle, almost a dot. I can see it but can't look at it, because when I try to look at it my eye moves and the floater moves with it. If I unfocus my eye (or eyes?) and have a clear background I can see many thingies, but different ones, not as darkly outlined and they seem to slowly slowly "fall" like slowmotion rain. When I was younger I always thought I could see the bacteria in my eyes (that's what it sort of looks like), now I don't know what to think

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Jamma
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's probably a "clump" of them, like I have. Your optometrist can verify with imaging. If so, there's nothing to do about it.

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Daniel Marsh
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've had floaters. That's not wrong... it's just so severe that it looks like Giant spiders. Nopanopea..

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B-b-bird
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

oh yeah... most annoying thing is that they get worse with a time.

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von Funnyname
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

as someone that has this one... i'm not sure if the inset is the full color, or the skewed one

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Kelvin said he’s been interested in medicine for as long as he remembers. “I used to have a first aid kit at home and usually play with it. But I realized that in medicine, I can actually help so many people and that makes me happy.”

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When asked what rare medical condition fascinates him the most, Kelvin said it’s mirror-touch synesthesia. “Imagine feeling what other people feel just by seeing them, but there are many more.” Turns out, he learns these interesting facts from the medical shows that he likes so much as well as studying them in class.

The TikTok creator also said that he’s really glad to be able to “give people value and educate them every day.”

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Chillace
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

or when i let my friends try on my glasses. "HoW cAn YoU sEe WiTh ThEse??"

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Kristal
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have astigmatisms in both my eyes and I don't have the distorted, just blurry. That photo is still not blurry enough for me when I don't have my glasses on lol

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SentimentAndBadJokes
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For all the people saying that this is cute, maybe it adds nice aesthetic to one picture, but would you really want live you life seeing this the entire time??

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According to the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, more than 4.2 million Americans aged 40 years and older are either legally blind or have low vision. The leading causes of blindness and low vision in the US are primarily age-related eye diseases. These include macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, amblyopia and strabismus.

Refractive errors are the most common vision impairment in the US that makes it hard for a person to see clearly. It’s estimated that there are more than 150 million Americans with the condition. Reflective errors happen when the shape of your eye keeps light from focusing correctly on your retina (a light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of your eye).

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Other common eyesight conditions include cataract, which is a clouding of the eye’s lens and is the leading cause of blindness worldwide, and the leading cause of vision loss in the US. They can occur at any age and in some cases can be present since birth.

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mcborge1
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have this and it gets worse if i'm tired or have a fibro flare up. Looking at anything with close stripes is a nightmare and really hurts my head and eyes. Sometimes the edges of things look like they have faint motion lines like you would see in a cartoon when something is drawn to look like it's shaking.

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Ivo H
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of my friends has this and that's why he always wear black and white outfits only, otherwise he could look ridiculous to other people.

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Diabetic retinopathy (DR), which you’ve seen in the video, is the condition that results from a common complication of diabetes. It progressively damages the blood vessels of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that is necessary for good vision. DR usually affects both eyes.

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Foxxy (The Original)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sheldon kind of explained it perfectly. The things that bother him sensory wise is like an itchy sweater on your brain that you can't scratch and can't ignore.

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MandaPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have visual snow (found out after talking to my eye doctor this year and she said it was my brain and not my eyes). Mine doesn't quite look like that, think an out of tune tube TV. Where you can see the show and the color but there is static everywhere. It makes it really hard to see in the dark too. If you're curious about it look it up, it's crazy how uncommon it is.

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A.J Milne
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I heard that this is not a disease and people with synesthesia are good in certain tests of memory.

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Glaucoma is another common group of diseases characterized by damage to the eye’s optic nerve, which occurs when the normal fluid pressure inside the eyes slowly rises. However, recent findings now show that glaucoma can occur with normal eye pressure. It can lead to severe vision loss and blindness.

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Dynein
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not like that though... (don't have it but I know about it). It's just that they don't notice/remember the subtle differences that make a face stand out from others.

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MandaPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have visual snow, and I guess it's different for everyone because the first two pictures with the ripples I don't see, but the third picture it pretty much what I see.

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Gemmila Cadd
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not saying that it would be cool to always see like this, but the first picture actually looks nice.

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Dre Mosley
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

More like Glaucoma that wasn't controlled and killed that person's peripheral vision. I was diagnosed with it over 20 years ago and other than being nearsighted, I see fine.

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