photophobia

OMG! i just realized somting!!! Victoria has photophobia!
people with photophobia are photophobic (nur)

Definition of Photophobia
Photophobia is eye discomfort in bright light.

The primary symptom of photophobia is the desire to squint or close the eyes when exposed to light. Any light source including sunlight or artificial light will cause the sensitive reaction. Sometimes this light sensitivity is accompanied by headaches.



Considerations:
Photophobia is a fairly common symptom. For many people, photophobia is not due to any underlying disease. Severe photophobia may be associated with eye problems and cause severe eye pain even in relatively low light.
Common Causes:
• Excessive wearing of contact lenses, or wearing badly fitted contact lenses
• Eye disease, injury, or infection (such as chalazion, episcleritis, glaucoma )
• Burns to the eye
• Common migraine headache
• Meningitis
• Acute iritis or uveitis (inflammation inside eye)
• Corneal abrasion
• Corneal ulcer
• Drugs such as amphetamines, atropine, cocaine, cyclopentolate, idoxuridine, phenylephrine, scopolamine, trifluridine, tropicamide, and vidarabine
• Eye testing in which the eyes have been dilated

Photophobia is a symptom of excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to sunlight or well-lit places. In medical terms it is not fear, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure.
Light sensitivity is usually due to too much light entering the eye, which causes over stimulation of the photoreceptors in the retina and subsequent excessive electric impulses to the optic nerve. This leads to a reflex aversion to light, and discomfort or pain. Too much light can enter the eye if it is damaged, such as with corneal abrasion and retinal damage, or if a pupil(s) is unable to normally constrict (seen with damage to the oculomotor nerve).
Patients with photophobia will avert their eyes from direct light (sunlight and room lights), or may seek the shelter of a dark room or wear sunglasses.
Photophobia is also a behavior demonstrated by insects or other animals which seek to stay out of the light.

Causes
Patients may develop photophobia as a result of several different medical conditions, related to the eye or the nervous system.
• Meningitis
• Eye disease, injury, or infection such as chalazion, episcleritis, glaucoma, keratoconus
• Subarachnoid haemorrhage
• Albinism
• Burns to the eye
• Migraines
• Encephalitis
• Conjunctivitis
• Aphakia
• Iritis
• Aniridia
• Corneal abrasion
• Corneal ulcer
• Cataracts
• Retinal detachment
• Dilation (naturally or chemically induced)
• Chiari malformation
• Cystinosis
• Anticholinergic drugs may cause photophobia by paralyzing the iris sphincter muscle.
• Hangover
• Chikungunya
• Rabies
• Asperger's Syndrome and Autism
• Achromatopsia
• Marijuana Abuse

In mythology
In folklore and mythology, many creatures suffer from photophobia — or heliophobia, a specific fear of sunlight.
• Some of the many forms of Norse trolls are said to either turn to stone or become trapped above ground when the sun rises.
• C. S. Lewis wrote[1] that the alchemist Paracelsus believed that gnomes explode when they go above ground: "if he thrust out his face ... [it] would break into splinters, bursting as a man would burst in interstellar space" — though in fact, humans exposed to the vacuum of space experience no such spectacular effect.
• In English folklore, goblins are said[who?] to find light unbearable.
• In Lithuanian and some other Eastern European folklore, the devil is said to go back to hell whenever the sun rises.

In fiction
• A modern tradition has it that vampires burn and/or disintegrate when exposed to light; this tradition was in fact introduced in the 1922 film Nosferatu. (See the article on Nosferatu for more information.)
• In J.R.R. Tolkien's works, goblins are said to get wobbly legs and become giddy in the head when outside, while trolls turn to stone.
• In Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, the zombies from the movie Zombies in the Snow are forced to retreat during daylit hours.
• In the films Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch, both the Mogwai and Gremlins are incredibly sensitive to bright light; direct sunlight on their skin will kill them in a matter of seconds.
• A character from the anime Ouran High School Host Club, Umehito Nekozawa, avoids light, and wears a hood all the time to protect himself from it. When exposed to light for a short time, he collapses, but he eventually gets over it. Ironically his little sister, Kirimi, is afraid of darkness.
• prot (lowercase is proper) from the planet K-PAX (uppercase is proper) wears dark glasses while on our planet because he can see ultraviolet light and would be blind without them.
• In the films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, the antihero protagonist Richard B. Riddick is photophobic as a result of medical alterations to his eyes which give him superhuman night vision, but force him to wear welding goggles in the light.
• In Scott Westerfeld's Midnighters trilogy, all the midnighters (except Jessica Day) are photophobic and have an aversion to sunlight.

this is from another site:

Photophobia (Light Sensitivity)
By Judith Lee and Gretchyn Bailey; reviewed by Vance Thompson, MD

Photophobia, or light sensitivity, is an intolerance of light. Sunlight, fluorescent light, incandescent light — all can be bothersome. Sometimes light-sensitive people are bothered only by bright light. In extreme cases, any light can be irritating.

Photophobia Symptoms and Signs
The main symptom of photophobia is discomfort in bright light and a need to squint or close your eyes to escape it. Headache may also accompany light sensitivity.

What Causes Photophobia?
People with lighter-colored eyes, cataracts and those who suffer from migraine headaches are more likely to notice sensitivity to light and glare.

Often, photophobia is a symptom of another underlying problem, such as a corneal abrasion, uveitis or a central nervous system disorder such as meningitis. Light sensitivity may also be associated with retinal detachment, contact lens irritations, sunburn and refractive surgery.

Photophobia often accompanies albinism, total color deficiency (seeing only in shades of gray), botulism, rabies, mercury poisoning, conjunctivitis, keratitis and iritis. Certain rare diseases, such as the genetic disorder keratosis follicularis spinulosa decalvans (KFSD), are reported to cause photophobia. And some medications may cause light sensitivity as a side effect, including belladonna, furosemide, quinine, tetracycline and doxycycline.


Glare-control sunglasses, like these by Corning, are helpful if you are sensitive to sunlight or even strong indoor lighting.Photophobia Treatment
The best treatment for light sensitivity is to treat the underlying cause. In many cases, once the triggering factor is treated, photophobia disappears. If you are taking a medication that causes light sensitivity, talk to the prescribing physician about discontinuing it or replacing it with another drug.

If you're sensitive to light, avoid bright sunlight and other bright lights. Wear wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses with ultraviolet (UV) protection.

In an extreme case, you may consider wearing prosthetic contact lenses that are specially colored to look like your own eyes. Prosthetic contact lenses can reduce the amount of light that enters the eye, so your eyes are more comfortable.

Alternative Names
Light sensitivity; Vision - light sensitive; Eyes - sensitive to light




Heliophobia
Heliophobia has two meanings:
• a specific phobia: dread or avoidance of sunlight
• Excessive sensitiveness to sunlight.
The classic history of heliophobia can be seen easily in most modern vampire stories (Nosferatu was the first to claim heliophobia as an attribute of vampires), in which it was shown that vampires had a total aversion to the sun. This heliophobia was considered a "telltale sign" of witches, vampires, and demons.

soooo, if you didnt understand all that, or maybe if you did,
photophobia is the antolorance to light, while heliophobia is just being, like afraid of light.
so there.
i am smart
:D