What is light sensitivity?
Light sensitivity, or photophobia as it's known, means that your eyes become very uncomfortable, very sensitive to light, especially bright lights.
It could be when you go into supermarkets where it's a fluorescent lighting. It could be if you're working under bright lights all day. It could just be sitting in front of your computer screen, or if you're doing a lot of work on your phone.
And also a lot of people are telling me now that driving at night is becoming a real issue, because when a car's coming towards you, the lights are so bright that you really can't focus very well at all. Also, if you wear contact lenses, you may find now that your contact lenses are just not doing the job that they used to do.
How It Feels
So, what does it feel like? It feels like you have to squint all the time, the minute you come into contact with the bright light. You might find that you have to close your eyes more often. You get eye pain. They can become very irritable; they can get very red.
They can also start to water a lot more, as your eyes respond to all this different light. You might find that you start to get headaches because of the bright lights. And some people tell me that they're even starting to suffer from migraines - something they never had before.
Why light sensitivity can occur during perimenopause and menopause
Why does this happen? Your oestrogen is very important for maintaining eye health, helping your tear glands to work properly. It helps to support the ocular and corneal nerves, so that your eyesight is working properly.
So when your oestrogen level fall, your eyes can start to get really dry; they can get irritated. And this is where you find that you can start to get really sensitive to the light.
And again, if you're having to scrunch your eyes all the time, you're more likely to get the migraines. This can be just due to fatigue, too. You know, we tend to get fatigued and a lot more stressed in the perimenopause and menopause.
If we're not sleeping well, then all of this can affect our sight as well and how our eyes adapt to what's going on, on a daily basis.
What You Can Do:
There are plenty of ways to improve this situation. One is to make sure that when you're out in the sun, to wear good sunglasses. Don't go for the cheap ones because their UV protection is often really not very good. It actually pays to invest in a really good pair of sunglasses. You can wear blue filter glasses or you can put blue filter screens on things like your computer and on your phone as well. And these can often work really, really well.
Feed your eyes. So your eyes need plenty of good nutrition. You can get special eye supplements that can be very, very helpful. Look at your omega 7, available in Sea Buckthorn Oil. There's lots of research on this. They know that Sea Buckthorn oil can be really helpful for dry or uncomfortable eyes.
Go for your phytoestrogen-rich foods. To help boost your oestrogen levels, google ‘phytoestrogen-rich foods’ and try and incorporate these into your daily diet. You can also take a phytoestrogen supplement.
Hydrate. Remember to drink plenty of water. If you get dehydrated, that can actually affect the eyesight on a day to day basis, and also cause dryness. So, loads of water.
Sort your sleep and stress if these are an issue. And I know that's easier said than done, but you know that's going to help at the end of the day.
It is really important to get your eyes checked regularly when you're in the perimenopause and menopause. Hormonal changes can happen really suddenly. If you've had an eye check six months ago and you're not due another one for two years, that can be a lot of time when your eyes are uncomfortable. So, make sure you go regularly. Let them know you're in the perimenopause or menopause. Opticians are now becoming more aware of eye changes during this particular time, so they can give you that little bit of extra advice and support.
If all of these things don't help, then just double-check with your doctor. There can be certain health conditions, like diabetes, that can affect the eyes as well.
Hope this one helps. It's one that seems to becoming more and more common. I'm getting more questions on it on a regular basis. What did you do to help yourself? Did you do something that really made a difference? How did you adapt to this as well? You know I love to read your stories and if you have any more questions please just ask.
Until next time, take care and have a lovely week
