Fluorescent lamps

[PiotrSWE]

Hello,

Do you people have any advice on how to cope with fluorescent lamps? I'm referring to the large kind that are placed on ceilings. They fill the whole ceiling in my classroom at school, and the light is so strong that the school could probably offer light therapy there. No one else seems to be bothered by it, or at least no one has said anything, but the strong light causes a lot of discomfort for my eyes.

[No tears in ATL]

Fluorescent lights make me miserable, too. I've worked with non-dry eye folks that also complained of migraines from fluorescent lighting. Might want to check any reviews on these but it seems like a pair of glasses like these might filter out some of the harsh light:

http://shop.gunnars.com/store/produc...FW0V7AoddBcA1w

I thought there was a thread on here devoted to these glasses. May want to do a search.

[alisonW]

Hello, unfortunately I have no advice for you since they are everywhere I go it seems and I haven't found a way to cope except to avoid those places as much as possible. I did want you to know that they cause my eyes a lot of discomfort too - you're definitely not alone.

[LaDiva]

I used an overhead projector daily, and so the lights in the classroom were almost always turned off. (I guess now you have smart boards?) The kids liked it, and so did I. There was enough light in the room so they could see to read and write, and always something on the overhead showing them what, or how to do whatever was going on. Whenever given a choice of lights off or on, they chose off. Also, it was possible to turn on half a bank of lights (at the back of the room) without turning all of the lights on. If you have kids who have problems focusing, the overhead thing is a miracle. When they had a writing assignment, I posted the prompt on the overhead, and the writing rubric. I also kept a small desk lamp turned on at the front of the room. A gift from heaven. I don't know which age group you are teaching. I had secondary students. Later I had an office job, and always kept the lights in my office turned off. You are right. Those lights are killer.

[Peppermint]

When I took night classes, I wore a baseball hat & that did a good job blocking the fluorescents. I also asked the teacher to turn off one set of lights in the classroom (there were two) & that helped also. Good luck!

[DryInUpstateNY]

ask to have them replaced or removed for your health.

I did this in my office and had them removed. it's like a nice dark little cave now in my office area, save for the computer light, which I have on lowest setting.

They don't have to remove all of them, just most of the ones in your direct vicinity...

[kevino]

I had LASIK 17yrs ago and PRK 8 years ago. I made two trips to Coppel, Tx to see Dr Gemoulles. But I still can't wear rigid contacts or scleral lenses. In summer it's not a problem, mainly because I just don't go anywhere at night. In winter I have to drive to and from work in the dark. All headlights, traffic lights, streetlights or outside driveway lights cause starbursts and halos that essentially blind me. I found help by buying 4% pilocarpine eyedrops. I remove 0.1ml with an insulin syringe and add it to a 10ml bottle of Blink eyedrops. That give a concentration of roughly 0.4%.

In the past glaucoma drops were recommended to constrict my pupils. What I found was they prevent my pupils from dilating at night. That's how they help glaucoma. But they don't constrict the pupils enough to cancel the starbursts and halos. Full strength pilocarpine causes bad headaches. This dilute version still works but without causing headaches. My pinpoint pupils may look weird to people but I can drive at night now. The starbursts are still there but they seem 'thinner' to me. I can see the headlight filaments within the starbursts but can make out the type of vehicle behind the starburst. Without the drops every oncoming headlight is on high-beam and pointed directly at my eyes. All I see is a white wall and little else penetrates it.

In the office the drops darken everything somewhat. As if rheostats are turning down the lights. Colors are quite muted. It's a small price to pay. I saw a post from someone bothered by overhead lights. These eyedrops might help that person.

kevino

[PiotrSWE]

I want to thank everyone for all the advice. There is obviously no easy solution to the problem, as I have to take so many other people into consideration. I'm not sure if it would help turning off the lights in my direct vicinity, as the whole ceiling is lined with them. There is just too much light for it to have any effect. I will probably try with a pair of glasses that block light.

[Mawsky]

This is a great topic to bring up. I work in a hospital the building is new and filled with overhead can lighting. My eyes are always terrible at work, but I thought it was a combination of things, working with a computer, airflow, lighting. One of my coworkers began having some disturbing neuro symptoms, after much testing it was determined that she was having ocular migraines. Ironically the lights around the nurses station were LCD and we learned they create a undetectable pulse. So they have now replaced them with florescent ones with a dimmer switch. When they are fully on they are horrid, but lowered they are tolerable. Perhaps you can discuss having a dimmer placed, so that you can adjust the level of light. Thanks to our government incandescent bulbs are being replaced by lighting that is causing lots of problems for many people. My coworkers dr, told her he is expecting a booming business from now on.

[avee]

Hate-hate-hate those! Make my eyes hurt and which is equally bad - my eyes look so red!!! Might try the Gunnras, thank you for the advise!