Causes And Treatments For Photophobia
Also known as light sensitivity, photophobia can cause a number of symptoms when you are exposed to bright light. They include eye pain, blurred vision, itchy eyes, dizziness, headache, nausea, and the urge to squint your eyes. The causes can range from simple eye irritation to life-threatening medical disorders. Before your ophthalmology professional can treat your photophobia, the underlying cause will need to be determined. Here are some causes and treatment choices for photophobia.
Causes of Photophobia
Common causes of photophobia include injuries to your cornea such as abrasions. You may also become sensitive to light if you get dirt or other types of small particles in your eye, especially if they become embedded into your cornea.
Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, can also cause photophobia. Other symptoms of pink eye include redness, itching, burning sensations, and feeling as though you have something in your eye. You may also develop a sensitivity to light if you have a severe case of dry eye syndrome.
Serious causes of photophobia include encephalitis, or brain inflammation, and cerebral hemorrhaging. These are medical emergencies and may also be accompanied by severe headaches, a stiff neck, fever, dizziness, confusion, and vomiting. If your photophobia is a result of a brain disorder, you will need to seek emergency medical treatment because delaying treatment may result in an unfavorable prognosis.
Treatment for Photophobia
Treatment for common causes of light sensitivity includes rest, anti-inflammatory eye drops, and antibiotics if your condition is caused by bacterial conjunctivitis. Your eye doctor may also prescribe antibiotic eye drops if you have a corneal abrasion.
While antibiotics may not heal the corneal abrasion any sooner, they will help prevent an infection. If your photophobia is caused by dry eye syndrome, lubricating eye drops may be recommended. When sensitivity to light is caused by a brain disorder such as encephalitis, you may need intravenous fluids and antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications, and surgery to relieve the pressure on your brain caused by the buildup of blood and fluid.
If these treatment options fail to resolve your photophobia symptoms, your eye doctor may refer you back to your primary care physician for additional diagnostic testing and treatment. You may need a magnetic resonance imaging test, or MRI, or other diagnostic imaging tests to help undercover other causes of photophobia.
If you develop light sensitivity, see your eye doctor right away. When photophobia is addressed promptly, you will be less likely to develop complications such as eye infections, pain, and visual deficits.
For more information, contact an ophthalmology service like Idaho Eye and Laser Center.
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