Why are my eyes sensitive to light all of a sudden?

Has it become difficult for you to step out of your house? Because your eyes have become too sensitive to light. Your eyes become teary and hurtful whenever you look at bright light. You immediately shield your eyes with your hands. You have an urge to go back into the darkroom because of the bright light outside. You are suffering from photophobia or light sensitivity.

Why are eyes sensitive to light?

Rather than asking why are eyes sensitive to light, you should ask — what is light sensitivity a symptom of? Light sensitivity is not a disease but a symptom of underlying vision issues. There are a lot of eye conditions that can cause your eyes to become sensitive to light. Some of them are -

1. Meningitis — Inflammation of lining around the brain and spinal cord. It’s a serious condition if not treated early.
2. Albinism — A genetic disorder that reduces the pigment in hair, eyes and skin.
3. Autism Spectrum Disorder — Development disability
4. Concussion or post-concussion syndrome — Traumatic brain injury
5. Depression — Serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel.
6. Lyme disease — Bacterial infection
7. Fibromyalgia — Muscosketal pain with fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues.
8. Glaucoma — Eye condition with optic nerve damage
9. Migraine — Headache with severe throbbing pain
10. Corneal and retinal diseases

Is sensitivity to light serious? Yes. Very much. If you are suddenly suffering from light sensitivity, you might have an underlying vision condition. Meningitis is a very serious condition. If you are suffering from this symptom, you should consult with your doctor asap.

What can cause sensitivity to light?

Apart from underlying diseases and eye conditions, there can be other reasons to make your eyes sensitive to light. After a heavy drinking session, you can have sensitive eyes from a hangover. Also, if you stay indoors for a long time with little to no light, you will have sensitive eyes for some time. Dry eyes can also cause your eyes to become sensitive to light. If you spend your whole day working in front of computers, your eyes will become dry, and when you step outdoors with excess bright light, your eyes will hurt from the excess light.

Often there is no reason for light sensitivity. Some people are more sensitive to light than others. You can find someone with red and teary eyes in the sun while others are perfectly fine. Also, lighter eye colours like blue are more sensitive to light because of a lack of pigments.

How to cope with light sensitivity?

What helps with light sensitivity? Perhaps blocking all the light sources. If you have extreme photophobia, you will want to block all light sources and live in the dark for the rest of your lives. However, it is not a feasible solution as you will need light to do everyday activities, and also light makes your mood better. Living in the dark can only make you more irritable and depressed.

Some of the light sensitivity treatments are -

1. Use sunglasses when going outdoors. Wear anti-UV and polarised lenses for your sunglasses. Any other sunglasses are not actually useful.
2. Use eye shields. These are larger than sunglasses and cover most of your face. You will not get a ray of direct light in your eyes.
3. Wear a baseball cap when outdoors. It is a seemingly simple solution to cover your eyes from getting an uncomfortable glare.
4. Change the lighting of your home. Switch from bright LED lights to warmer lights. You can use a dimmer switch, blinders and adjustable lamps.
5. When working on the computer, do not use too much light. Wear blue light glasses to protect your eyes from the glare and blue lights of the screen. Use adjustable lamps throwing light below your eyes. In this way, the light will not affect your eyes, and you will have sufficient light to see or work on your documents.
6. Gradually increase the light exposure to make your eyes less sensitive to light.
7. Consult with your doctor if your symptoms persist for a long time.
8. You can also try tinted glasses like brown, red and other colours. Try on these glasses and choose a colour that gives you comfort in viewing. Or use anti-glare glasses all the time to reduce glare getting in your eyes.
9. You can also try transition lenses that change the shade of the lenses according to the light. Your eyes will not hurt with these glasses on. You will also not be shocked by bright light when stepping in and out of any place.

Effects of light sensitivity

Light sensitivity causes you to withdraw from society. You are not able to get out of your home. You are always irritated and think negatively, even about small issues. You should consult with a counsellor for your mental well being.