Hart Shafer Phoenix , AZ
“ Wearing sunglasses indoors is increasing your sensitivity to light .” My wife and I were floored when her headache specialist made this statement . Chronic migraine had made her so sensitive to light that she had to wear sunglasses indoors . During an attack , photophobia increased her misery . Sunlight , light from computer monitors and TVs , and fluorescent lights triggered even more attacks .
When my wife protested that sunglasses were her only way to quell the pain , her physician ’ s response excited us both . Research had found that a special tint for glasses resulted in 74 % fewer migraine attacks per month ! When we did more reading at home , we found that the study the specialist mentioned , was part of more than 20 years of research on light sensitivity . The problem was finding glasses that blocked enough light for the tint to be effective .
I had watched my wife suffer for many years , and while I could relate because of my own episodic migraine , I often felt helpless in her struggle . This time I saw a way to help . My background is in new product development , so I put those skills to work and made exactly the glasses we envisioned for her . My wife got so much relief that we made a few more pairs to help other people we know who experience migraine . Eventually , we established a company that manufactured specialized eyewear .
Although we started the company because of our personal migraine experience , we quickly learned that photophobia is a symptom of more than 40 health conditions . And , it is not the only headache disorder in which light sensitivity is a problem — tension-type headache , cluster headache , new daily persistent headache ( NDPH ),
www . headaches . org | National Headache Foundation 31
170767 _ LOT A _ NHF Feb 2017 Vol . 6 Issue 3 . indd 31 2 / 15 / 17 12:48 AM