Blogpost 6: Photophobia

Blogpost 6: Photophobia

Majority of the people loves to take pictures, so that is why of course it came up to a new word now at Oxford dictionary. When we take a self-portrait photograph, we shows narcissism. It means we are conscious on what we look like. Sometimes we think we are good looking so we take a picture. And of course, pictures are for treasuring moments too. Overall we all love to take pictures.

But do you know that there are people who are afraid to take pictures? Yes it is true, the symptom is called Photophobia. According to an article Photophobia written by Amanda Delgado and reviewed by George Krucik MD, photophobia means a condition which bright lights hurt your eyes. Well it is not much of a fear or phobia, it is more likely a pain. Another name for this condition is light sensitivity. It is a common symptom that is associated with several different conditions, ranging from minor irritations to serious medical emergencies. Mild cases make you squint in a brightly lit room or while outside. In more severe cases, this condition causes considerable pain when your eyes are exposed to almost any type of light. 

Symptoms of Photophobia according to R.Abel Jr. author of an article Photophobia or Light Sensitivity, discomfort, need to close eyes, need to squint, burning and excessive tearing. It also says there that people who have ligh colored eyes are more prone to have a photophobia rather than people who have darker eyes.  It’s said that this is due to lack of pigment in lighter colored eyes, and more pigment in darker colored eyes is said to protect against harsh lighting such as bright sunlight. 


The causes of Photophobia are, corneal abrasions, detached retina, , contact lens irritations, sunburn, refractive surgery, uveitis, and medicattions. To summarize, too much light pressure on the eyes. It is like having a bad vision. 

In the same article, "The number one and best treatment method for relieving the discomfort of photophobia is to address the underlying cause. In most cases, if you treat the underlying cause, the sensitivity levels decrease and the photophobia disappears. If the cause is due to medications, talking with your prescribing doctor or replacing the medication with another effective one could help. If someone is naturally sensitive to light, wearing sunglasses, especially with UV protection, brimmed hats or avoiding bright light situations all together could be the only resolution. In other cases, a prosthetic contact lens that mimics the color of your eye can be used. Always inform your eye care doctor or ophthalmologist about issues you may have, including sensitivity to light, even if you don’t think it’s that bad."

It is truly stated now that not everyone likes to take pictures. Well they say that "too much is not good". Photophobia is either inborn or adaptable. So not everyone appreciate this "selfie". We must be very careful and take care of our eyes. Because eyes are the windows of our soul. How can we appreciate to take selfie if we have bad eyesight?