Bright lights trigger

There is only one trigger (other than hormones) that may be triggering my migraines---very bright lights, especially fluorescent. Other light culprits are the sun setting in the west if I am driving, those new horrible headlights people have now (I know someone said they are great for night driving, but they are horrible for oncoming traffic. I don't get a migraine instantly but will wake up in the night with one following a day with exposure to the above lights. I am going to invest in a good pair of sun glasses. I usually buy cheap because I lose them. I decided if I wear them most of the time maybe I will keep track of them better. Any suggestions on ones good for migraine? Also, is this a big factor for anyone else's migraines? I can honestly say I have ruled out just about anything else. I am just very sensitive to light--a lot more than the average person.

Lights are my major trigger. I have removed all fluorescent lights from my home and even though my husband likes to have all the blinds up so the sun comes in we have been living in the dark since my migraines started coming daily two years ago. I have also tinted my regular glasses with a rose tint and have a UV coating on them which does seem to help some. I also wear clip on sunglasses whenever I leave the house. Just passing by an open window and catching a flash of light or when in a car and we drive by a group of trees with the sunlight filtering through can trigger a migraine. I am looking into though buying some of those huge wrap-around sunglasses that will fit over my regular glasses.

It does sound like an accumulation of light triggers throughout the day build up in your brain and then during the night it decides it has had enough and the migraine occurs. It is hard to try and minimize light in our 24 hour lit-up world and I hate having to isolate myself in the dark but we do what we have to do! It is worth the investment in a good pair of sunglasses that are polarized to reduce glare and that are UV coated and that also block light from the sides. Take care!

jewishmother - you described mine perfectly.

And thanks btw for the reminder that I was going to shop for those wrap-around sunglasses this weekend! Have done some shopping online but really want to try some on before I buy!

Good luck. I will be shopping for them this weekend also.

Lights are a trigger for me, too. You might also look at the room where you sleep at make sure it is dark as possible and there are no flashes of light while you sleep. Definitely ditch the cheap sunglasses, they can cause migraines. I hope the sunglasses help.

I will do that. I have no problem spending money. I like excuses.

Wal-mart light and or grocery lights are triggers for me. I have been having to wear my sunglasses indoors for years. And ya bright sunlight is real bad for me. Simply can't leave the house without my sunglasses and a ball cap, no worry about my hair there. Come to think about it I really have to wear my sunglasses everywhere I go, sunday service, grocery shopping, any kind of shopping, driving for sure, and when I was working. I am very, very light sensitive.

I have said that sometimes I feel as if my eyes are being x-rayed.

I wonder how many of us are real light sensitive. Maybe that is the root of the problem.

There was a theory on the BBC news website a while ago that suggested that migraine could be cured by shutting a part of the brain down to light.

Don't know if anyone else saw it but I don't think a "one size fits all" remedy could fix every migraine sufferers head!

Actually thinking about it Dawn made a comment on my FB group about my photo-phobia, and my Dad had it too.
I forgot to follow that up with her.

I have awful problems too. Snow is real glarey. Lights in supermarkets, they always have flickering bulbs.
Christmas lights.....sunglasses all the year around for me,

I had to stop driving at nights years ago, because of the headlamps and everything got distorted.
I thought I couldnt see, I could, but it felt wrong.
I was told it is the squinting that causes muscle spasm,
which creates the headache....

I wonder if any of us don't have this problem, and if it is a cause of effect....

P

Just what I was thinking Pen. Seems too simple though. And I don't think I would want my brain operated on to shut down the sensitivity to light. I'll stick to sun glasses.

I know Linda...bit drastic eh???

We did discuss on here a while ago about blue and brown eyes and glare I think.

My dad and I were told the photophobia is because of the shade of blue.
Apparently when they look behind our eyes there are prisms of shades of blue....

I was told this isnt the case with all blue eyes, it depends on how you came by them....
I had two blue eyed parents. My grandson has a brown and a blue, so unlikely to have the same...

Blue eyes are supposed to be more light sensitive, but I bet we dont all have blue eyes...right??

P

Well for me it depends on the day. Some days they look blue, other days they look green. My mom has the same eyes but my dad was a definite green. So I probably don't have the same issue as you, Pen.

I'm not as light sensitive at this point. If I put my contacts in...yeah - not fun, especially with winter snow.

I do notice that the overhead fluorescent lights at work do bother me but I just don't feel well so I'm not sure that it's really light sensitivity?

Brown eyes here........but I usually don't fit the mold! HeelerLady - the lights at work may possibly be contributing to how you feel. The constant flickering of fluorescent lights can make our brains wig out also. They can make me feel very anxious and unsettled even if they are very low wattage.

JM-I think you might be right. Sad thing is there's nothing I can do to change it. The office space (cubicleville) is a converted computer lab and the whole room is fluorescents. I unfortunately sit near the door so I can't even take those out above me and use floor lamps.

Most places in UK use "pinks", but "Daylights and Blues" are not so harsh and will appear to flicker a bit less.

We have been forced to have these dumb low energy bulbs here and they are awful
Like mini fluorescent. Our migraine charities mounted campaigns against them.
They can trigger epilepsy too we are told.

P

Bright sunlight can set me off but mostly I'm ok these days since having reactions lenses in my glasses. My optician recommended grey as likely to be the most effective. He said grey is as close as you can get to the ideal colour which is blue.

I'm sensitive to sunlight flickering through trees and the like when I'm driving. The reactions lenses won't work behind glass so I've bought some of those wrap around over glasses which definitely do help. They're not very attractive but I only wear them for driving. I think one of the reasons they work so well is that they have the deep wrap around sides. They are also grey and not brown.

I've virtually given up driving at night as I have trouble dealing with the oncoming headlights as well as the "flashing" effect of driving under street lights.

Although flourescent lighting can trigger a migraine low energy bulbs do not. They don't seem to flicker much to me once they're warmed up.

At work I removed the tubes from where I sat as there are no light switches and the lights come on triggered by movement. I used a desk lamp. Since I've been off work they've changed the flourescent tubes in the offices to daylight types. They seem very harsh to me but a fellow migraine sufferer says they have really improved things for her. I've not been in there long enough to trigger anything.

Oh, and I have brown eyes.

Even my youngest who doesnt even get headaches, had to have the tube changed in the light near her at work.
She was getting headaches and nausea every day.

Soon as they changed it to a blue, she was fine.....

P

Dark brown eyes here. I do wear contacts and have always needed sun glasses on sunny days but lights didn't bother me a lot. They sure do now.

I developed a headache last night after sitting under a heat lamp outdoors at a party. (Still have it too). I did not drink anything and can't think of any other trigger. The light above me (it was orangish in color) just really started bothering me and then the headache came on quite suddenly. Has anyone else had a problem with these lamps? Not sure what type of bulb it was. These are the type of heatlamps they use in outdoor restaurants.

Migrainegirl. I'm not sure exactly about the lamp you are talking about but I would know it if I saw it. These new so-called "green" lights are the culprit and fluorescent whether they are the old or the "new and improved". Give me an old fashion light bulb. They don't bother me. I've talked to many people that don't like the new lights even if they don't get migraines.

Estre004 - Did you find wrap-around sunglasses this past weekend? I tried but failed and hate to order them online b/c want to make sure they fit properly.........been told I have a pin-head!

Hey Pinhead no, I didn't find a pair either. I may look on my way home from work at another place. They have to be the wrap around because the sun, especially in the west if I am driving north, hits me on the side and is almost as bad as driving into it.