If you find yourself disturbed by bright lights or intolerable of sunlight, flourescent lights or incandescent light, you may have photophobia, or light sensitivity. If this sounds like you, you may often feel the need to squint or close your eyes when faced with lighting that others around you are comfortable with. Sufferers of photophobia also may experience headaches that accompany the light sensitivity.
Rather than think of photophobia as a disease in itself, it is more accurate to consider it a symptom of one or more other eye conditions. Often infection or inflammation can result in light sensitivity and this type of response to light nearly always accompanies a migraine headache. Other causes of photophobia include retinal detachment, contact lens irritation, corneal abrasion, uveitis, sunburn, and some central nervous system conditions like meningitis.
