Do you struggle to drive without sunglasses when it’s bright outside? Well, that could be due to your eye color.
People with one eye color are more sensitive to light, and that can make seeing in the sun a whole lot harder.
Eye color and light sensitivity
It’s people with blue eyes that may have difficulty driving or walking in the sun, often having to squint or hold their hand up to try and see better. Other light eyes colors like green or hazel might also have the same issue.
Dr. Mahyar Maddahali, a medical practitioner who goes by the name Dr. Max on TikTok, has gone viral after explaining why.
He reacted to a video in which a blue-eyed man was squinting while driving in the sun and said: “The reason people with lighter iris color are more light sensitive is actually pretty simple. If your eyes are green or blue, you have lower amounts of melanin in your iris.”
Dr. Max explained that melanin is a very important factor when it comes to UV light protection and absorbing light.
“So logically, more light will pass through the iris and reach to your retina,” the doctor said – adding that people with blue or green eyes may also have larger pupils.
Condition is very common
This eye discomfort in bright light is called Photophobia, Medline Plus explains. People with this condition may squint or blink a lot and put their hands up to shield their eyes from the light. For most, the problem is not due to any disease and is easily manageable.
However, it can also be caused by inflammation inside the eye, burns to the eye, corneal abrasions or ulcers, certain drugs, excessive wearing of contact lenses, eye disease or injury, meningitis, migraines and recovery from eye surgery.
Things you can do to ease light sensitivity include avoiding sunlight, closing your eyes, wearing dark glasses and darkening the room. If the light sensitivity is severe or painful, you should contact your health care provider.
You may experience sneezing
People who are sensitive to light also often experience a strange phenomenon called the photic sneeze reflex or Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioopthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) syndrome.
Known commonly as ‘sun sneezing’, it’s when exposure to bright light, typically intense sunlight, causes uncontrollable sneezing, the National Library of Medicine reveals.
Sneezing is usually triggered by contact with infectious agents or after inhaling irritants, but photic sneezing is entirely different.
The cause is not fully understood, but it may involve an over-excitability of the visual cortex in response to light, activating a part of the brain called the secondary somatosensory cortex.
ACHOO syndrome is inherited from parents, and can be managed by wearing a hat and sunglasses to shield the eyes from direct sunlight whenever possible.
