Anyone with photophobia?

sleepymy

I was just wondering how you manage to get enough light without giving yourself a blinding headache?

I'm bed/house bound atm so am definitely not getting enough and was considering a light box but don't want it to be a waste of money if I find I can't use it.

Ted_Hutchinson

This Screwfix tasklight has exactly the same type of 2D/36Watt light source that other SADLIGHTs contain. It would therefore be sufficiently bright to stimulate your pineal gland to get your circadian rythm in order if you used it early in the morning for up to an hour and maybe late afternoon if you were feeling drousy and needed to brighten up.

It will not however contain UVB that is needed for Vitamin d3 synthesis. For that you would need to go to a sun tan parlour or take an effective amount of Vitamin d3 cholecalciferol. In this experiment SAD people were given 100,000 iu and others phototherapy. The Vitamin d3 appeared to produce the better result but it was a small trial. My point in mentioning it was to show the amount of Vitamin D that may be needed to improve your Well being. Vieth here uses 4000iu/d so you can expect to require this amount for some time to achieve the same impact as Hollis used. Bear in mind also that Vieth like us lives much futher North than Hollis in Baltimore so what may be effective at latitude 40 is likely to be insufficient at latitude 52 particularly when the opportunities for sunbathing or even bright light have been somewhat restricted this year. The Vitamin D council have links to suppliers of effective strength though Boots and Holland & Barrett both do 1000iu/cholecalciferol/d3 which would get you started. The ones from the USA are cheaper/per iu though so more moneysaving.

PS It is possible that as you are sensitive to bright light that you would feel better using a full spectrum light source. These refer to visible light so again don't contain UVB/UVA so won't burn and won't tan or provide vitd.
this type may fit in a desklamp/anglepoise screw type fitting and if you had it close to you would give you an idea for low cost if you can acclimatise your eyes to brighter light.

sleepymy

Thanks Ted, I take a Calcium + Magnesium + vitamin D suppliment all year round. I should probably check the amount of vitamin D in it to see if I'm taking enough.

My photophobia does get worse as my health dips, it's at the stage atm where I can't comfortably read off a white page and have taken to printing reading text off on cream paper.

The bonus is that my optician says I've an exceptional ability to see very low level lights most people don't see so I can see well in the dark lol

I'm thinking of trying one of those bulbs and was just wondering if they were any good so thanks for the link.

Ted_Hutchinson

sleepymy wrote: »

Thanks Ted, I take a Calcium + Magnesium + vitamin D suppliment all year round. I should probably check the amount of vitamin D in it to see if I'm taking enough.

Indeed Hypovitaminosis D in British adults at age 45 y shows most UK adults have less than 75nmol/l

The urgent need to recommend an intake of vitamin D that is effective tells us that 400iu/d vitamin d raises status by 7-12nmol/L

So to get from below 75nmol/L to above 125nmol/L the level with the lowest cancer incidence require more than contained in the standard multivitamin tablet. But I expect those who have a vested interest in promoting cancer incidence will delete this information.

sleepymy

Do you have to be out in the sun or can you sit inside a window with the sun shining on you?

Ted_Hutchinson

sleepymy wrote: »

Do you have to be out in the sun or can you sit inside a window with the sun shining on you?

UVB will NOT penetrate glass so you have to be outside in DIRECT contact with sunlight to benefit from the UVB vitamin d effect.

But as far as your pineal gland is concerned the brightness of the light entering your eyes is all that matters so to set the enzyme reactions in place that depend on LIGHT as opposed to UVB these will continue if you are in BRIGHT light from sun, or from electric light,

It is the case that Sunglasses can disrupt the natural process started by the bright light from entering your eyes. this process starts the anti cancer action of the protein gene p53 which initiates the tanning process.

You have to understand there are 2 separate and distinct actions happening UVB acting on your skin from direct exposure to sunlight creating vitamin d and BRIGHT LIGHT STIMULATING your pineal gland and initiating enzyme reactions to start tanning and controlling your circadian rhythm and controlling body temperature. You really need to ensure both occur but you can use vitamin d to replace the DIRECT exposure to UVB and electric light to ensure the circadian rhythm is maintained. But anyone who knows anything about photography will tell you there is a huge difference between the bright light of outside sunlight and inside electric light. So you recreate the bright light of sunlight indoors requires a much brighter light than your eyes will be happy with. The only answer is to try to gradually acclimatise your eyes to the level or brightness usually experienced outdoors.