Migraine and sunlight
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Do you live in the far north? What about the far south? You may be interested in the findings of a new study done in Norway, announced at the American Academy of Neurology meeting this week. The discovery was that people who had migraine with aura were more likely to have attacks during the summer "light" months than in the winter "dark" months. Why?
This seems to support the growing theory that the neurons in the brain of a migraineur are hypersensitive. To quote Dr Karl Alstadhaug,"This supports the theory that, in people with migraine, the neurons in the occipital lobe of the brain, which is the part that is the primary site for vision, are hyperexcitable or easier to trigger"
The migraineurs with aura were also more sensitive to light during and even in between attacks. Many wore sunglasses to try to avoid migraine symptoms.
7 July 2011 @ 1:00 pm
I am very sensitive to sunlight with or without a migraine. If I am out of my darkened room, I must wear sunglasses until night time. I get weird looks when I am in the grocery store or the mall, but I can’t handle light.
6 December 2011 @ 5:47 pm
some of my most severe migraines occur in late June/early July- they have lasted 2-3 weeks some years,dark sunglasses,hats,staying indoors -it still occurs. Glad to see research being done.
7 December 2011 @ 1:57 am
I am very conscious of changing and flickering lights. A ceiling fan over a flourescent light always triggers a migraine. Also if I have been in bright sunlight and walk into a darker room say inside a house a migraine is always trigerred. I need to keep my sunglasses on for a while to adjust. Reflections of bright sunlight on car windows also trigger off bad migraines.