Sensitivity to sunlight
I have had some really crippling lobster-girl sunburns where I got severly burned and the people around me were not as badly affected.....and being out in the sun too much without protection gives me really bad headaches.
I have never tanned...but I freckle
Even though I am a very dark brunette, I joke tha I am part-redhead....my mom has mousy brown hair, blue eyes and freckles, but all her siblings are total redheads
My freckles tan.
But otherwise, I don't leave my house without copious amounts of sunscreen on my flesh (my facial moisturizer year round has an spf 15) and in intense sun, I carry a parasol and I've been known to wear sunglasses even when it's overcast; especially in the winter. I don't think I have ever spent a day in the sun without having a headache by the end of the day. I should probably own stock in Tylenol.
_________________
I do believe in spooks! I do, I do believe in spooks!
ArtisticAspie
Butterfly
Joined: 17 Mar 2008
Age: 46
Gender: Female
Posts: 17
Location: Charon - Pluto's Moon
Yeah, I hate florescent lighting. Everything about them I really do not like. Even when they flicker, it drives me insane - lol. I have an LCD monitor and TV - which I both have the brightness turned down. I didn't realise that LCD and florescent had something in common.
Regular light bulbs are bright but not as annoyingly bright as florescent ones. Even the energy saving light bulbs are a bit bright and I like all lights best when they're off or turned down.
Florescent lights actually generate UV light as their primary thing. The UV light hits a coating on the inside of the glass that converts the UV to visible light-not not both UVA and UVB, and not absolutely 100% of it.
The locations you mentioned are all probably lit by florescent lights, and your computer monitor if it's LCD probably uses a florescent backlight (or if it's CRT that would be just as bad with shooting high energy junk at you).
Good to know. Yeah, the supermarkets all have florescent lights.
Strangely enough overcast days can still be very bright, despite no visible sun.
AA
You ever hear that one? I get it all the time cause i sometimes close one eye to keep the light out if squinting both doesn't do the trick.
"Are you crying?"
As soon as i step out into the sunlight i notice my eyes start to water. Sometimes i can do discreet rapid-blinks to wipe away the tears before anyone notices, but sunglasses are my ultimate saviour.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
I've had people accuse me of falling asleep on them because I do the one eye blinky thing.
I have the transitions lenses, which are really cool. but they don't help inside the car, or in bright stores, but most bright stores don't bother me much. It is a situational thing with me.
Florescent lights actually generate UV light as their primary thing. The UV light hits a coating on the inside of the glass that converts the UV to visible light-not not both UVA and UVB, and not absolutely 100% of it.
The locations you mentioned are all probably lit by florescent lights, and your computer monitor if it's LCD probably uses a florescent backlight (or if it's CRT that would be just as bad with shooting high energy junk at you).
There are a handful of LCD screens starting to come out that use LED lighting instead of florescent, which I assume doesn't produce much of anything but visible light. I assume they SHOULD be safer, and I wonder if they won't bother people with florescent sensitivities?
I'm also concerned by the law that's been passed in the U.S. and Australia banning normal incandescent bulbs. What effect is that going to have on people with these sensitivities, and on cancer rates for that matter?
living increases cancer rates, that is not my quote, that is from a doctor I know.
I used to work doing custom picture framing and preservation of artwork. This taught me a fair amount about fading of artwork due to acid (in the paper) and UV rays. All lighting gives off UV rays, it is just the degree of which they emit the rays that each type of bulb differs and even that isn't very much of a difference to anyone but us aspergians.
Moderate amounts of UV rays are not harmful to a person's skin and do not cause cancer. In fact, without UV rays, your body won't produce some of the vitamins that it needs to produce to keep your body strong. Also, the main reason we have skin is because we live in a place where we have UV radiation (that and microbes).
Moderate amounts of UV rays are not harmful to a person's skin and do not cause cancer. In fact, without UV rays, your body won't produce some of the vitamins that it needs to produce to keep your body strong. Also, the main reason we have skin is because we live in a place where we have UV radiation (that and microbes).
I don't think LEDs used for normal backlighting do though-and I'm assuming incandescent doesn't either. A UK study I found showed there is a cancer risk increase from florescent lighting. Small, but there. I don't stand out in the sun except when I have to either though
Average living room - 20-100 lux
Office lighting - 400 lux
Very overcast murky day / TV Studio - 1000 lux
Sunny day - 40,000-120,000 lux (note that most of the high number here comes from secondary exposure - i.e. the environment reflecting the sunlight at you, rather than just direct sun itself)
My psychologist, specializing in autism spectrum disorders, said that sensory integration dysfunction is a prominent feature of Asperger's.
For me personally, I certainly have Sensory Integration Dysfunction. The sun is incredibly bright, painful and tiresome.
It was only last year, when I was 27, that I managed to find some awesome 'wrap around' (cover the whole field of view) polarized dark sunglasses (about 80% light reduction), and thought to combine that with a cap. One of those golfers caps, which doesn't have the top of the head (hair exposed thus). The combo is awesome. I never get as blinded or annoyed as before, and it doesn't matter much if I'm facing the direction of the sun (the cap prevents the sun ever being in my field of view, so only secondary exposure). Highly recommended for anyone, even with no sensitivities. After all, you wouldn't want to harm your eyes from UV exposure and other excess would you? Squinting also causes tons of unpleasant wrinkles around your eyes (like you wouldn't believe if you add a few years).
I've also added an awesome window film (Llumar GN07 HPR) that only lets 8% of the light through (do the math with the scale posted initially to get some idea). Most of the time it just makes the outside more in tune with indoor lighting. It's great to have a nice view from the window without being so blasted by intense light.
In general I tend to lower light levels indoors to 'can see where I'm going without problems' but no more. People react to it and ask why it's so dark in the place.
Without sunlgasses and all that, the sun is...
- Very painful at first, then dissipates (inside about 30-60 seconds) as my eyes adjust a bit.
- No matter what, it's way, way too bright, and feels like it. Even if my eyes don't outright hurt, it feels super 'overwhelming' somehow and really tires me out and overarouses my senses.
- I generally don't go out unless I have some kind of business if it is sunny. Even with sunglasses (reducing 80% of light) it's still very bright (after all, 20% of 50,000 lux is 10,000)
I'm certain that sun lovers squint like hell as well, just that they really enjoy massively stimulating themselves...
If I'm going outside, during the day, I wear dark sunglasses. Period. I really squint and am uncomfortable when I go outside without them. I can get mostly used to it if I'm out long enough, but I'd rather not. I wear my sunglasses even when it's overcast, and late into the evening, until my eyes don't feel strained without them.
_________________
Heart of the guardian, way of the warden, path of the exile.
I'm also sensitive to light, not just sunlight (although sunlight does feel uncomfortable on my skin after a while) and squint frequently when there's too much light.
I often turn off all the lights in the house and only leave on the tv or computer, it provides enough light to keep me from bumping into things and it's comfortable on my eyes.
I like sunlight in certain contexts, not in others. It really depends on my mood. My sensory issues are predominantly linked with sound, not visual stuff.
Unrelated to AS, but strange nonetheless, I do experience an uncontrollable physical reaction to sunlight: I sneeze when quickly exposed to it... like walking outside on a sunny afternoon after being inside for awhile. I always thought that everyone did this, until I found out that, no; it is in fact caused by a genetic trait that affects about one-fourth of all people. Check the link...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photic_sneeze_reflex
_________________
Plantae/Magnoliophyta/Magnoliopsida/Fabales/Fabaceae/Mimosoideae/Acacia
I hate Reno in the summer. The sun is far too bright. There are times where it will give me such a horrible headache. I recently bought sunglasses to alleviate the problem, but the bridge of my nose is apparently rather wide.
Edit: The headache is usually centered on my EYEBALL, by the way. I do wear the sunglasses, but the bridge of my nose can bother me sometimes.
_________________
"Let reason be your only sovereign." ~Wizard's Sixth Rule
I'm working my way up to Attending Crazy Taoist. For now, just call me Dr. Crazy Taoist.
Last edited by MrLoony on 12 Jul 2009, 12:37 am, edited 1 time in total.