Photophobia or sensitivity to light: Everything you need to know

What is photophobia? How does it affect?

The National Library of Medicine defines photophobia as a concealing discomfort in the presence of bright light. This is a very common discomfort and in most cases is not a disease. But there are also cases of severe photophobia that can cause severe eye pain even in low light situations.

Most commonly, people with light sensitivity have the urge to close their eyes when the light is very bright and their eyes water or redden for a few minutes. But in the case of severe photophobia this can cause dizziness, severe headaches, vision problems, nausea or even vomiting.

The most common symptoms are:

- The need to close the eyes.

- Tearing and reddening of the eyes.

- Headache, in some cases it can be severe or even become a migraine.

- Vision problems such as: blurred vision, difficulty focusing, problems adapting to changes in light.

Neurological causes

The causes of photophobia are varied and depend on the degree of sensitivity to light of the sufferer. Although most of the causes are directly related to visual health, there are drugs that cause photophobia and there are also neurological causes.

The most common neurological causes that may cause photophobia are:

- Migraines

- Headaches

- Meningitis

- Encephalitis

- Botulism

Frequently asked questions about photophobia

Below, we answer two of the most frequently asked questions related to light sensitivity.

How do I avoid light sensitivity?

The bad news is that photophobia is not 100% preventable, but the good news is that there are measures and care we can take to alleviate it as much as possible.

- Avoid direct exposure to intense or dazzling light sources.

- Use UV filtering glasses.

- Reduce the use of screens and adjust their brightness and contrast.

- Rest your eyes from time to time to avoid eyestrain.

- Maintain good eye hygiene.

- Use sunglasses with side shields, polarized glasses or glasses with photochromic lenses that adjust to the amount of light.

2. What type of tinted or polarized glasses are ideal for me?

If you suffer from light sensitivity, it is advisable to get sunglasses with dark tinted lenses or even polarized or photochromic glasses, as they will help you reduce the impact of sudden changes in light. Depending on the degree of sensitivity you have, you can choose one or the other or even some colors or others.

Glasses with dark lenses

If you suffer from photophobia, we recommend you choose sunglasses with dark lenses that will help you a little more to protect you from the strongest light. At Vytria we have a wide variety of models of sunglasses tinted in dark colors for you to choose the one that best suits your features.

Polarized sunglasses for photophobia

Polarized sunglasses are designed to reduce glare from light reflected off certain surfaces such as water or car hoods. This will help you if your degree of photophobia is not too high, as they will provide greater visual comfort. These are some of the polarized glasses at Vytria:

Photochromic glasses, the best ally against light sensitivity

Having photochromic glasses is like having a 2x1: sunglasses and optical frames. Photochromic lenses automatically adapt to the light conditions of each situation, i.e. they darken when you go outside and are exposed to brighter light, and they lighten when you are indoors or if the light is dimmer. Some of our photochromic glasses are:

If you have doubts about which glasses are the best to help you with light sensitivity you can write to us at info@vytria.com or check in the details of each product, in that file are always indicated if the lens is polarized or photochromic.