eyes...sensitive to sun light

[dreamyeyes]

     I was just wondering if others experience sensitivity to sunlight. For about 15 years now my eyes have been extremely sensitive to bright lights, especially sunlight, full or partial sun. I can not go outside without sun glasses on even for a few moments. Also, the head lights on vehicles coming towards me at night bother my eyes to the point of near blindness. Therefore I try not to drive after dark. Could this be another symptom of MS? I have always joked about just being allergic to the sun!!!

[7788]

l dont know about you, but l grew up in england and as you know is always cloudy even in summer..then l moved to a very sunny place and now my eyes hurt so much even if l wear sunglasses, it feel like someone punched my eyes, and they hurt all night, l feel the pain all around my eyes and socket, is that the same for you lot, or is it old age lm 51 now, but too much light it bothers me a lot jessica

[kwarendorf]

Hi SS- Welcome to our little group :-)

This is a pretty old thread and Heather hasn't been around much in a while. I didn't want you to think people were ignoring you! Why not post a new question and introduce yourself.

Kyle

[StarchildSue]

Guess I should join the Squint Girls group too ! :)

[LorilyAK]

I've read several books on MS & light sensitivity can be a symptom of it, but it could be related to something else as well. I have some auto immune issues that have not been completely confirmed yet, but I did have Iritis maybe 5 years ago which zapped most of the color from behind my iris' which now lets too much light in my eyes. It also gave me borderline Glaucoma. I wear sunglasses outside even on cloudy days, I hate fluorescent lights, & I wear non-glare glasses at night when I drive. My eyes are blue. One thing my glaucoma specialist & my neuro think I have is Sjogren's Disease since my eyes are dry enough to stick to my eyelids.

[LorilyAK]

Hi! I am suspected of having Sjogren's also along with Multiple Connective Tissue Disease. I had Iritis about five years ago which significantly decreased the coloring behind my iris' which in turn lets in too much light. I am very light sensitive now & have borderline Glaucoma. My eyes are blue. I always wear sunglasses outside, even on cloudy days & cannot read outside even with sunglasses on. I got a pair of glasses with non-glare lenses to help with night driving, but I try not to drive at night in the rain. I am 48 & had laser vision correction in both eyes about 19 years ago. My nearsightedness is not as good as it was when I had that surgery, but Sjogren's might have something to do with it. I use Restasis eye drops, regular eye drops & then Systene eye gel at bedtime so that my eyelids don't stick to my eyeballs in the morning. I also use Biotene toothpaste & mouth rinse for the dry mouth. I virtually have no moisture in my nasal passages either, which saves on the Kleenix! I think my whole body is drying up.

[notears]

Hi. I have the same thing and it's become worse over the past month. This along with numerous other health issues which have come up over the past few months has lead my doctor to suspect that I have Sjogren:s syndrome. It's yet another autoimmune condition that can hit as a primary disease or likes to pal around with MS or Lupus or RA. I use artificial tears several times a day and that helps. Hopefully, once the diagnosis is definite, then I will be able to have a more potent eye drop....

[Quixotic1]

I agree.  You responded to a post from last winter.  Would you go "Back to Forum" and Post a new question/discussion so we can all learn more about this?  Are you diagnosed with MS?

Quix

[doni54]

Hi Jackie,

Welcome to the forum.  Would you start a new thread and tell us your story?  I'm afraid others might miss you on this one.

You've found a great place to be at this forum.  Everyone is just great and we have health pages that are very informative about lots of things that people with MS or suspected MS need to know.  You can access them by clicking on the health page icon in the top right corner.

Are you dx, or seeking a dx?  I will wait to read your story when you get a chance to post.

Again, glad you are here with us.

Doni

[Jacks771]

Hi,

I can't believe all the symptoms you have are identical to mine? I cannot stand any form of light anymore and it is quite scary....I avoid looking at any lights but if I come into contact with a light then it makes me feel physically sick and also brings on a headache which is due to the strain of my eyes.....I hate sunny days and dull days that cause a considerable amount of glare....so I really can't seem to win, so  no days are really very enjoyable now.

I now own so many pairs of sunglasses as I can never afford to be without them and I also have the yellow tinted ones for driving.

I really don't think people understand the unhappiness that this brings to someone with this condition......sometimes when it's really sunny out I pray for the night time...so that my eyes will start to feel less strained.

It would be very comforting if there was help out there for this condition.

All the best


Jackie

[biowham]

OK, did I not post the post I thought I'd posted about this? I AM losing it.

I have brown hair and brown eyes. I cannot stand sunlight. The horizontal light that we get this time of year from the West almost makes me insane. I have to close all of our western-facing blinds in the afternoons...I am like a little nocturnal animal trying to escape the sun. I can't be *in* the sun ever without experiencing extreme discomfort and becoming quite irrational, which goes away the minute I'm in the shade. I've been like this for a couple of years.

E

[ELT]

   Well, I don't fit in, after all.  I have hazel eyes, one with a large reddish brown spot on the retina of one.  My hair is auburn to light brown, more auburn in the summer, with lots of natural highlights, a small number of which are suspiciously lacking in colour, lol lol.  

   Unfortunately, it is also fine, so, though it has waves, I need to encourage them to pretend I have fuller hair.  I am soooo jealous of people with lovely thick wavy red hair.  LOL

   Can I still be a member? lol]

Erica

[tmjfibro]

I am  fair skinned blue eyes ,blonde hair (with the aid of a dye bottle)
I was diagonized  with  photo-sensitivty   5 years ago  .my opthamolgist  said its because I  
have blue eyes and blue eyed people are prone to it .I am short -sighted so
I now wear Reactalight glasses .as the sunlight is very  painful on my eyes

[TiredPT]

Fair skinned, blue eyes, sensitive to light but significantly increased after my first hospitalization due to high EBV titers.  Has gotten to the point that I avoid driving at night at almost all costs -- headlights from oncoming cars blind me.

So . . . . can I join too????  Always wanted to be part of a club :)

[LATW]

I am light skinned, was blond when I was little, blue eyes.....

Lee Ann

[dannig]

I was diagnosed with photo sensitivity 9 years ago and was told by the ophth. that it is common in people that are fair skinned and have blue eyes.  My pupils actually dilate-contract-dilate-contract (sort of like a spasm) in bright light when they hould only contract.  I don't even have to have my pupils dilated during eye exams because they do it on their own.  Now 2 months ago I started having bladder dysfunction (never had a baby) and am currently going through testing for MS.  I never thought about the 2 being related, but I will definately tell my nerologist.

[LATW]

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. MY EYE DOCTOR CALLED IT "PHOTO SESITIVITY" OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.  

I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A VERY DIFFICULT TIME WITH EYE EXAMS.  AS I HAVE GOTTEN OLDER I FOUND I NEED SUN GLASSES MORE OFTEN, BUT I WAS STILL ABLE TO HAVE MY HOUSE LIGHT.  

NOW THAT ON HAS SET IN I HAVE THE SHADES PULLED 100% OF THE TIME. WHEN MY ON SET IN THE FIRST TIME I EVEN WORE SUNGLASSES IN THE HOUSE DAY AND NIGHT IF THE LIGHTS WERE ON.  

I DO OK WITH LOW LIGHTING THAT IS NOT OVER MY HEAD. I DO NOT HANDLE FLORESENT LIGHTS WELL AT ALL. NOT ONLY DOES IT AFFECT MY VISION BUT IT LITERALLY MAKES MY HEAD SPIN AND I GET SICK TO MY STOMACH.

DON'T KNOW IF THAT HELPS ANY.  I WAS DX'D WITH MS LAST WEEK.  :(


LEE ANN

[ELT]

   Oooooooooooooooo, the after image.  I mentionned that to an ms specialist and he looked rather dismissive.  But I find that what I look at lingers, so when I look away, especially to a plain background, I can see the same shape, for a long while after.  Not the colours, just the shape, and in fact, dark things appear light, light, dark, or somehting like that, lol.

   Erica

[Momzilla]

Hey, I get that "after-image."  That's exactly what I have called it, but have always chalked it up to migraines, which it may be....

Squinty*

[gooddays]

HELLO EVERYONE,

FROM WHAT I JUST READ, IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT COLOR EYES WE HAVE, BUT HOW BAD LIGHT AFFECTS ALL OF US.   MY LAST VISIT TO THE NEURO-OPTALMOLOGIST TWO MONTHS AGO, HE TOLD ME THAT MY PUPILS WERE A LITTLE DIALATED WITHOUT PUTTING ANY DROPS IN THEM AND ALSO TOLD ME THAT SOME MEDICATIONS MAY TEND TO HURT YOUR EYES WHILE EXPOSED TO BRIGHT LIGHTS.  

LIKE I TOLD RENA A LITTLE WHILE AGO, I LIVE IN THE TROPICS SO THE SUN IS ALWAYS BRIGHT AND IT ALWAYS HURT MY EYES.  BY THE WAY I HAVE BROWN EYES.  REMEMBER I AM THE ONE WITH THE EYE PATCH FOR 6 MONTHS TO A YEAR.

I HAVE SPECIAL LENSES TO WATCH TV, WHICH I SELDOM USE, I AM NOT INTO TV THAT MUCH.  THE LENSES DO HELP TO BRING THE SCENES CLOSER AND TEND TO DEEM THE BRIGHT LIGHT THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH TELEVISION.

HEATHER, "SQUINT GIRLS" SOUND LIKE WRINKLES, I HAVE ALWAYS CALLED MY SELF "MRS. MAGOO" FROM MY DAYS OF WATCHING MR. MAGOO'S CARTOONS.  OF COURSE WITH OUR EYE PROBLEMS, WE MAY NOT SEE ANY WRINKLES AT ALL, EVEN IT THEY ARE A FOOT DEEP!!!!!!!!!!!

ERICA YOU CRACKED ME UP WITH YOUR EYES AGE!!!!!!! I AM STILL LAUGHING, THANK YOU I NEEDED IT.

NOW INSTEAD OF THE BEST MS FORUM WOMEN, WE MAY HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT NAMES BASED ON HOW MUCH LIGHT HURTS OUR EYES!!!!!!!  INTERESTING?

EVERYONE TAKE GOOD CARE AND IF A SUNGLASS COMPANY WANTS TO SPONSOR ANY OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR EYES, PLEASE LET THEM KNOW THAT THERE ARE PLENTY OF US AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO SPONSOR ALL OF US, OR GET OUT OF BUSINESS.

LOVE AND KISSES,

ZULMA

[ELT]

   Hi, can I join the Squint Girls?  Haha!!  

   I've had enough eye issues to send me to a neuro-opthalmalogist.  He didn't see anything untoward, apparently.  Yet, I have lots of issues, at different times.  Double vision, blurred  vision in one eye, phosphenes, floaters, pain.  

   Bright lights, sun, all hurt my eyes.  Sudden lights are worst.  I like my energy efficient bulb I put in my light beside my bed.  It has an added bonus I hadn't thought of.  It takes it a bit to get to full light, so, I just lie there and wait for my eyes to adjust.  Car lights are deadly, if I catch a hint that a car is coming towards us, (my bf drives, I don't) I look towards the ditch and squint my eyes almost shut,  It hurts bigtime otherwise, and blinds me for a bit.

   How is it possible that they can see nothing when they examine my eyes?  Granted, it's been almost two years since I saw the neuro-opthalmalogist, but I did see the optometrist a bit ago.  All she saw was that my left eye, the one with the vaseline like presence in the way of my vision, had a paler, thinner retina than my right eye.  She attributed it to the aging process.  I sat there, blank, and didn't think to ask her, "Are both my eyes not the same age?"  Lol  I mean, if that's the eye with the ongoing issues, maybe the change in it's appearance is relevant?

   Aaaarrgggghhh!!!   Who knows?

   So, can I join?  What are the dues to the "Squint Girls"?  Haha!!

   Erica

[KAUTION]

is it true that some light eyes are sensitive TO SUN LIGHT

[TonkaSpirit]

After image, that is the word I was looking for. Thank you.  Yeah, I see an after image after a flash for a long time.  You are a funny gal, with your "clean bill, but not no bill".  Have a great day!
Terrie

[dreamyeyes]

     WOW!!!! I am amazed at the response I got on this question!! I was definantly not expecting so many people to have the same problem.
      I keep my house pretty dark, all the curtains are normally closed and I even have alluminum foil covering my bedroom window. I love it dark, from the sunlight, but I do keep the ceiling lights on all the time. Everyone questions me as to why its always so closed up. I love to sit on my front deck and watch the wildlife, flower....I also live in the woods, completely surrounded by the east texas piney woods. But I sit out there with my sunglasses on...lol. As for watching Tv, I just dont do alot of watching, but when I do, I cant handle watching Tv in the dark, I light from the Tv bothers me, I have to have an overhead light on. And I think the computer causes alot of my headaches, maybe from the light on the screen, dont really know.
     Riding as a passenger in a vehicle, I better be in the front seat. I can not ride in the back. By the time we get where we are going, I will definantly feet sick, wobbly, and very out of sorts. On long trips I prefer to drive!!!

[Wobbly]

Me too, most mornings when I open my eyes, I need to put sunglasses on...I can't even put a light on in the house for about 10 min...the light in the house hurts my eyes.  I squint for awhile and my eyes feel like they are burning.  Sunlight is so bad too and no way to I drive at night.  Do other people feel strange in a car...when you are a passenger or driver?  it's like a dizzy wobbly feeling?
Oh well..more and more..but I have to get my eyes checked again...last time they said Dry Eyes, but it has gotten 100 times worse..thanks