What is photophobia?
Photophobia is a symptom of light intolerance, where the eyes are very sensitive to certain levels of light. Also known as light sensitivity, it can involve an uncomfortable or painful feeling in response to sunlight, or indoor lighting like fluorescent or incandescent light bulbs.
Causes of photophobia
There are quite a few eye conditions that can cause photophobia as a symptom, these include:
- Uveitis (inflammation inside the eye)
- Keratitis (inflammation of your cornea, the clear layer at the front of the eye)
- Ocular albinism (a lack of pigment in the eye that affects the eye’s ability to block light coming into the eye)
- Conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva, the membrane that covers the eye)
- Blepharospasm (a condition that makes your eyelids close uncontrollably)
- Eye conditions, surgeries or injuries: injury to the eye can cause secondary open-angle glaucoma, either immediately after the injury or some years later.
Light sensitivity may also affect people with medical conditions that affect the nervous system, as well as some mental health conditions. They’re also a very common symptom in migraines.
