Do you squint when you walk outdoors on bright days?

When you come back indoors on a bright day, do your eyes take a few seconds to adjust?

Do you wear sunglasses to drive even when there's no bright sun?

While light sensitivity is often characterized by discomfort and squinting, photophobia is a more severe condition where bright light is perceived as painful. Those with photophobia may experience increased discomfort, eye strain, and even pain when exposed to light, which may signal an underlying medical condition. In contrast, light sensitivity allows individuals to still perform daily activities, albeit with some discomfort.

The basic methods to cope with light sensitivity are avoidance, tinted lenses, eye drops, software settings, and nutrition:

Avoid bright light

• Stay out of the sun as much as possible, especially for prolonged periods.

• Adjust, change, or turn off indoor lighting. Common methods are using dimmers on your lights and avoiding fluorescent bulbs.

• Cover reflective surfaces. Shiny surfaces can be especially bright when light hits them at the right angle.

Wear sunglasses and/or photochromic lenses

• Sunglasses reduce light and glare by using a specific tint and  with polarization or glare-reducing lenses. 

• Photochromic lenses change into tinted lenses when you go outside and clear up when you come inside.

Eye drops

• If your eyes are dry or suffering from allergies, you can try using artificial tears or medicated eye drops.

Software Settings on Digital Devices

• Adjust device settings to reduce the brightness setting or reverse colors. 

• Some devices will use ambient light to adjust screen brightness to a tolerable amount.

• Use blue-light filters and anti-glare devices on your phone, computer, and other screens. 

Nutrition

• Eat more leafy greens (or take a supplement)! Your eyes do have natural defenses and functions to deal with changing light levels. Your eye needs a steady source of two antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin, to keep in peak health. If you are lacking in nutrition, you will tend to have more trouble with glare and brightness.