Is there such thing as being light sensitive?
Question:
Answers:
I have a similar thing. I first noticed it while I was in school. After stepping out of a dark hallway into daylight I would sneeze. One of my professors, said, "Oh, you are a sun sneezer too?" I gave him a weird look and he said his wife had the same condition. Apparently, he said according to his wife's doctor, some people really are sensitive to light. I'm not absolutely certain as to the mechanism, but if one's eyes react in an extreme way, it causes muscles to contract, that eventually leads to the nose to becoming irritated and a sneeze or twelve occur. He told that the next time I get the feeling that I want to sneeze, but can't -- look directly at a light. I tried it, and it makes me sneeze every time. Usually, though, it's unwanted sneezing like when I'm driving and there's a clearing in the trees, the sun shines through, and I start sneezing.
You should check out this website. I talks about sudden exposure to bright lights and sneezing. It's called Photic sneezing. Check it out.
http://loin.free.fr/john/photic_sneezing...
The history you describe seems to be related to a phenomenon known as photosensitivity. I am not a doctor, but as a teacher, I have observed the different reactions students have had to putting on the lights after seeing a DVD clip, overhead projection, or other situation that involves the change from dark to light or light to dark. Some are totally unaffected, some shield their eyes, some express vocal discomfort and others sneeze.
This condition is often genetic; you may see some members of your family with varying degress of photosensitivity. To be sure, see a physican to rule out any other physiological problems that may be causing your symptoms. Otherwise, use sunglasses to protect your eyes from abrupt changes in light. Keep in mind that you have two kinds of light receptors in your eyes; rods (used at night) and cones (used for color and daylight). These receptors require about half an hour to
adjust to the ambient light, a fact which airplane pilots are fully aware of due to the fact that they fly both during night and day times- headlights flashed in any person's eyes during the night
may cause temporary vision changes.
Good luck to you and know that many people experience what you describe.
More Questions & Answers...