Why does even 5 minutes of sun cause headache - and 10 mins cause nausea?

Sorry it was, Jelena, not Catz. I even double checked :(

I agree with, Catz, I feel (for me at least) it has something to do with (seems like my head) not being able to handle the heat or cool down. It can be cool outside but if sun is shining on my head it will cause the headache. If I am in a hot room as I stated before, I get the headache (so I know it isn't the sun alone). I though am not forty, only 29 and have had this since elementary school. Others seem to think to it is because of their fairer skin or with lighter colored hair but I have dark brown hair and eyes and avg. skin tone. Definitely going to look into some of, Catz suggestions!
*M

Hello,

i am so glad i found this site today, to know others have this similar condition; am M 45 Indian dark skin, black eyes, used to be normal until 25 when working outside got sunstroke every day for a week; since then condition has gotten worse over 20 years- now cannot take even 1 minute of Sun in skinf (especially head) exposure - it seems to be related to absorption of UV through the skin(?) as hydration, temperature, light through eyes/glare, electrolytes, exertion do not seem to be factors; IF am outside on a high UV day with layers of (nylon) protection am almost OK (minor unease), if exposed though its 4hrs later a 1-3day miggraine in a coold dark room, out of it, no vomiting (yet); have spent over $20K and 15years trying to find a solution; Ibuprofen is only thing that helps (sometimes) taken seemigly at the 'right' time; HOWEVER, quite by accident i found a prevenrtative measure -maybe this will work for you too - i take a capsule form supplement of PABA (Now brand) along with a low-dose B-complex (Thorne brand) together half hour before any Sun exposure, prevents /lessens the headache episode; ice packs, ice cold showers and sleep are the only other ways to cope; [email address removed by EmpowHER moderator]

Hi,
Actually the same happens to me as well , the headache lasts a full day sometimes.
Those symptoms increases during Ramadan ( fasting Month )because of the special diet we make during this month month ( we stop eating and drinking all day long ), But even during the rest of the year I still have the same symptoms ( sometimes 15 minutes on the sun = 12 hours of terrible headach.
Anyway the symptoms does not go away after drinking or eating whatever, not even after using a pain relief

I don't know if it has anything to do with vitamin D but when I got to about the 6th grade I had a P.E. class and my coaches all thought I was a lazy liar because every day we would go outside to the track or the parking lot and almost immediately I would get headaches. They sent me to the office the first few times but after the headaches went away when I went inside they concluded that I was lying to get out of having to exercise. I have to say it made me mad even at that young age because I wanted to go play with the other children but with my head hurting I had to stay in the shade. I guess because they had so many kids to look after they couldn't see how much it bothered me, but my mom did. She took me to the doctor thinking there was something really wrong with me and the doctor looked at my eyes. He told us that since I had a light eye color (a light greenish yellow then) my eyes weren't filtering out as much sun light as they should be. He said too much light was getting into my eyes and over-stimulating the receptors. He said to try sun glasses and that I would probably grow out of it.
My mom got me some sun glasses but they caused headaches too. I believe it has something to do with the refraction of the light through the lenses but I'm not sure.

I am 18 now and I don't get sun headaches much anymore, but I still get them every once in a while or when it's excessively bright outside. I keep my room dark and I think that helps some but as soon as I walk out into the light it blinds me for a few seconds. So I concluded that my eyes simply don't a adjust as well as they need to in order to block out the correct amount of sun light. I also get headaches sometimes when I'm around strobe lights. I figure this is also a part of the sensitivity issue.

My boyfriend recently got a pair a high definition sun glasses and said the next sunny day we have he will let me try them and see if they give me headaches too. He thinks that since he forgets they are on because everything is so clear that maybe it won't hurt my head.
This may be a solution for some people to try if they have that as an option. I'm not sure if it would help but for people who don't like sun glasses maybe darker colored contacts could help to block some extra light. I will try to post again after I try the high def sun glasses to see if they help.

To restate what many have already said, for most cases, It has NOTHING to do with how hot it is outside. It is purely the intensity of the sun light itself.

Hope this helps you all and good luck finding a good solution to those who have worse cases.
~~Catz~~

alysiak seems self absorbed. did you even read the op's question? and to have a sarcasstic attitude in the beginning of your second response because people said you were wrong with it being relatred to heat stroke. hahaha. (Edited for language by moderator.)

I have the same problem. I wear sunglasses everytime I leave the house. I drink a ton of water each day. When I plan to be outside for a long stretch I wear a cap. I get the headaches & vomitting still. I think it's an eye thing. I'll try the vitamin d. I hope it helps.

I am recently paying attention to the problem of sun exposure headaches. When I exercise or go to a festival /concert at midday, I get a sun exposure migraine (or I get really cranky). I avoided being outside for quite awhile and sort of forgot about the problem--and ended up having a Vitamin D deficiency. I now take Vitamin D supplements for that but I can't say that it has really made a difference for me.

I recently saw an acupuncturist for my headache symptoms. I described the onset as pain between the shoulder blades that rose up to the base of the skull, then throbbed upward toward the center line between my ears, and ending up localized to one side of my head. She said this was a textbook "gall bladder headache." She went to treat it (with needles) and noticed loads of heat still coming off my head, 8 hours after my morning run. Heat is a sign of inflammation of course--so I am looking at the headaches as inflammation. In Eastern medicine I am described as having hot blood, and the treatment is getting me to cool down. I am now taking a supplement called Li Dan Pian to try to get my body back into balance so that I can more effectively eliminate heat.The herbs and the needles *should* give me better vitality.

One thing I wonder about is whether sun exposure headaches are related to having capillaries and blood vessels close to the surface of my skin. I have normal but "thin" skin, and bruise easily and tend to be more sensitive to temperature. I wonder if the sun is heating up my vessels even as they are trying to eliminate heat. It seems to me that blood vessels change as we age or because of hormonal fluctuations, and I've noticed women in their early 40s (I am 40 myself) are reporting changes in their sun sensitivity here in this thread. (I guess I could go google this hypothesis!!).

As a sidenote, in addition to drinking plenty of water every day, I usually take extra strength Tylenol before going out for midday sun exposure, and this staves off the headache. I take another dose 4 hours later and this seems to keep the headache at bay. If I forget beforehand, I take two when I get back and another dose 4 hours after that. Heaven forbid I should forget altogether, though! The new "rapid release" formula is more effective for me than older formulas.

I am going to try to expose myself to midday sun more often, for brief periods--only what I can handle comfortably--to see if I can build up stamina. I am also going to consume more anti-inflammatory foods like beets and Omega-3s and see if I can tackle the problem from the nutrition angle.