Hi, I also have sun headache/nausea problems, and have been trying to root out all of the possible causes. Though my case is slightly different from most of the posters here, in that my headache doesn't begin until hours after exposure. Also, it's not a migrane, more of a sinus/forehead area non-throbbing headache. So far my theory is that it's caused by eye sensitivity, and sometimes made worse by physical exertion/heat/dehydration/allergies. It happens to me at all times of the year, but it can be worse when I have allergies, or if it's above 95 degrees out. I think heat is less of a factor for me than with other people - I don't get hot very easily, and tend to get cold if it's below 80. Even when I get the headaches, I don't feel hot or sweaty unless I also got a sunburn that day.
I have light blue eyes, and my eye doctor also says I have very large pupils (which conceivably means that they let in more light than they should). My eyes have always been sensitive to the sun and any other bright light, but I didn't run into the problem of headaches until I moved to Texas (from Michigan, where the sun is much less intense). If it's sunny out in the middle of the day, I never go outside without sunglasses, the glare is so bad. I'm not even sure if I would get a headache at that point, because I can't keep my eyes open long enough to find out.
I first discovered the headache problem playing outdoor sports here in Texas. For early morning games when the sun is still low, I didn't have a huge problem, but sometimes got mild headaches. Between 11am and 2pm, I would be fine through the game and then get a bad headache around 4-5pm which would last the rest of that day (and be gone in the morning). A couple of times I did a few hours of yard work after a game, and ended up vomiting the rest of the night. Initially, I thought this was just heat exhaustion or dehydration, but after some experimentation, I determined that the only common factor to my headache episodes was the sunlight itself, and the length of time I was exposed was directly related to the intensity. I can play games at night when it's 100 degrees and be fine, but play in the middle of the day when it's 60 degrees and get the headaches. Also, I have the problem even if I'm not physically exerting myself. I started wearing sport-rated wrap around sunglasses while playing (and a hat, if the sport allowed), and that cut down on the severity of my headaches about in half. So at this point my headaches are still annoying, but not debilitating, and it's been a while since I've had nausea to go along with it.
A lot of people mentioned that they would try the Vitamin D - has anyone found that to help? Another theory I had at one point was that squinting (due to the bright light) was causing muscle fatigue/pain, but I don't know if that's actually medically viable.
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Hi, I also have sun headache/nausea problems, and have been trying to root out all of the possible causes. Though my case is slightly different from most of the posters here, in that my headache doesn't begin until hours after exposure. Also, it's not a migrane, more of a sinus/forehead area non-throbbing headache. So far my theory is that it's caused by eye sensitivity, and sometimes made worse by physical exertion/heat/dehydration/allergies. It happens to me at all times of the year, but it can be worse when I have allergies, or if it's above 95 degrees out. I think heat is less of a factor for me than with other people - I don't get hot very easily, and tend to get cold if it's below 80. Even when I get the headaches, I don't feel hot or sweaty unless I also got a sunburn that day.
I have light blue eyes, and my eye doctor also says I have very large pupils (which conceivably means that they let in more light than they should). My eyes have always been sensitive to the sun and any other bright light, but I didn't run into the problem of headaches until I moved to Texas (from Michigan, where the sun is much less intense). If it's sunny out in the middle of the day, I never go outside without sunglasses, the glare is so bad. I'm not even sure if I would get a headache at that point, because I can't keep my eyes open long enough to find out.
I first discovered the headache problem playing outdoor sports here in Texas. For early morning games when the sun is still low, I didn't have a huge problem, but sometimes got mild headaches. Between 11am and 2pm, I would be fine through the game and then get a bad headache around 4-5pm which would last the rest of that day (and be gone in the morning). A couple of times I did a few hours of yard work after a game, and ended up vomiting the rest of the night. Initially, I thought this was just heat exhaustion or dehydration, but after some experimentation, I determined that the only common factor to my headache episodes was the sunlight itself, and the length of time I was exposed was directly related to the intensity. I can play games at night when it's 100 degrees and be fine, but play in the middle of the day when it's 60 degrees and get the headaches. Also, I have the problem even if I'm not physically exerting myself. I started wearing sport-rated wrap around sunglasses while playing (and a hat, if the sport allowed), and that cut down on the severity of my headaches about in half. So at this point my headaches are still annoying, but not debilitating, and it's been a while since I've had nausea to go along with it.
A lot of people mentioned that they would try the Vitamin D - has anyone found that to help? Another theory I had at one point was that squinting (due to the bright light) was causing muscle fatigue/pain, but I don't know if that's actually medically viable.
April 25, 2012 - 2:27pmThis Comment
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