Sunburn on eyes!

[david2404]

I've posted about light sensitivity/photophobia before but I'm still at a loss to understand my eye symptoms which seem to be different then most people.

Can anyone relate to this... I'm super sensitive to artificial light (and glare, from, for example, being in a greenhouse). I can handle daylight outside but I can't handle bright computers at all, nor tv or cinema or any overhead lighting. It's been gradually getting worse and worse over the the last few years and I'm desperate now!!

Basically, if i work on a computer or spend time under fluorescent lights not only does the light bother me but it also seems to damage my eyes because they can burn for days afterwards. The only way I can describe this is as if my eyes are sunburnt.

It's not the just slowing down of blinking because I can read for ages (in a soft ambient light) with no problems. But then what is it?? Please if anyone experiences this "sunburning" from light/glare please share any thoughts.

David

[cristiandryeyes]

I have severe dry eye and pain and I can work on computers with no probs at all. Actually I feel better while working than when I'm outdoors in a windy day.

[Rebecca Petris]

David,

I don't know the explanation but what you're describing is definitely a 'known phenomenon' - I've read about it here, talked to people who have it, and to a certain extent have experienced it. In fact the other day I read a paper on dry eye pain (not published, can't share link) that specifically mentioned this too.

Back in the early days of LASIK complications I remember how we all seemed to have problems with the airports, Walmarts/Costcos and such. It may be some kind of combination of the dryness and how the poor tear film affects the vision increasing the glare from these particular types of light.

[david2404]

I've read here on DEZ quite a few posts from people who struggle in front of computers and under fluorescent lights but I'm still stumped as to what is happening.

I can understand how the dry eye can cause photophobia, but I can't get my head around why the light from for example computers seem to cause temporary "damage" to my eyes. For me, looking at a fully bright computer for a few minutes is like staring into the sun, the nerves in my eyes go crazy and I'll get an intense tension headache around my temples. And the things is, it will feel like I've burned my eyes because the burning will last for the rest of the day or longer. The only thing that really resets my eyes is a good nights sleep.

I have MGD so my tears are unstable to begin, and I've got light blue eyes which makes me vulnerable to bright lights anyway but neither of these seem to be explanation enough for the doctors I've seen.

[sb82]

i too have similar symtoms

I too have similar symtoms. I have been using computers for more than 12 hrs almost daily for past 6 years.
However from August of this year have developed Dry eyes..which have got worsened.

Since past 3 months because of photo-sensitivity I am not been able to look at computer monitors(even LCD's) without hurting my eyes...so I had shifted to using Laptop's only...however from past one month...all letters on laptop screen also appeared blurred...after lot of struggling could read properly by placing an anti-glare screen before my laptop( tried using anti-glare with LCD monitor too- but that did not help)

I have gone to eye specialist thrice in past 3 months...after doing all tests my Dr. says that everything is fine with my eyes (except the Dry eyes problem).

A month before all this started I had moved in to a room with 3 flouresent tube lights( in my office)...and I was spending approximately 10 hrs everyday in that room with my computer...and I feel that this might have triggered Dry eyes problem.

As of now things with eyes are the same...I take artificial tear drops..have foreign-body sensation for most of the time...sometimes the eyes become red and have some twicihing too.
Sometimes I get migranes...which come and go when am reading.
I take lot of breaks( almost after every 15-20 mins).
And I work only on laptop with an Anti-glare screen.

However these days the thing that's bothering me most is tingling sensation(in hands,legs,head...) and some muscular pain that has also started...I am planning to goto a neurologist in sometime..

[Tempestuous]

Hi David,
Light sensitivity is debilitating.
The triggers are similar i.e. shop lighting, monitor, TV, but alas also daylight and even regular light bulbs for me.

My symptoms are different from yours however. Throbbing at the back of the eyeballs, sharp stabbing pain at the front of the eyeballs and severe migraine. For me its a progression that typically takes 3 hours exposure. At which point the damage is done and I am guaranteed a bad rip within hours of next falling asleep. I primarily have RCE. My specialist explained that the sharp stabbing pains indicate the surface layer of my eyes are breaking down.

As for cure??? I dont know. I did have a glorious, problem free couple of months this summer before things went wrong again.

What helps?
The norm for the first year was sunglasses indoors, drawn curtains and only a couple of very dim/shaded lights in the house. The best thing to help it was probably to completely rest my eyes with a blindfold on for about 90% of the waking hours for a week. Although it does drive you insane, I did seem to get better.

If like me you spend a lot of time on the computer, you must modify it. Get rid of the bright colour schemes. At its most basic level you could just adjust the brightness controls on the monitor. But its much better to customise windows - it really makes a tremendous difference.

I just cannot stress highly enough how useful this has been but if you use win xp you can see what I use and download it here
http://georgeharrison.deviantart.com...ve-VS-64097892

I've also modified xp with the Rainmeter skin which is nice/handy if you like modifying windows. But this is more just for fun rather than the eyesaver above!

The program is here
http://rainmeter.net/RainCMS/

and further skins/mods are here
http://customize.org/rainmeter


Another tip...
When I write notes/docs, the background is a dull grey (set by the concave file above) and I've set the text to be a very dull white.

Good luck trying it out.