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

To add to what I just posted, I found that putting some essence oil near by helps with the migraines too. It is half peppermint oil and half eucalyptus oil. I just take the cap off the bottle and set it on the table nearby.
I also take Excedrin and when they are really bad Maxalt MLT. When they make me nauseous, phenergan or phenergan gel added to the pain reliever.
Again, Hope this helps!

I get migraines when I go outside too. Mainly in the summer, when the sun is brighter. I think that the reason (and my doctor said its very possible) is because the light in my eyes. I have excellent vision and because of this, the light is too intense and strains my eyes. It has nothing to do with me being dehydrated or anything, just the light.
On extremely bright days I have a headache in a few minutes, on darker days it take a while.
A second way my migraines are induced is by nitrates, nitrites and high acidic fruit. Nitrates and nitrites are found in some packaged meats like hot dogs, sausage and bacon.
The difference is that the light ones the pain focuses on the front of my head, right behind my eyes. The food induced ones are focused around the middle top, from about the where the tip of one ear to the tip of the next.
To help prevent them I quit eating these foods and where sunglasses. The sunglasses help to slow them but they still come when I am out there for a while on a bright day.
Hope this helps!

Same problem here, and it is definitely sun related rather than heat. I can be on an air conditioned train at 7.30 am, lovely and cool, but the sun coming through the window makes me feel sick within a minute or two. My brain feels like it is expanding/boiling inside my head.

The remedy so far has been the same as other people ie a big wide brimmed hat (similar to crocodile dundee!), cold showers on the head, and generally being in the shade.

However, I've realised it only happens when my HEAD is in the sun. So I can be on a beach, and if I make sure my head is shaded by a parasol, I can have the rest of my body in the sun. It makes the tan look a big weird, but the headaches are awful otherwise.

I had always put it down to being quite thin (I'm a 6 foot tall guy, and only weigh 10 stone), and have 2 similarly built friends who suffer in the sun as well. Same symptoms from all 3 of us. So the previous comments about the blood vessels being too close to the skin would seem to fit. I'm going to look into the vitamin D issue by asking my doctor, and see if that helps - a great idea (even if it doesn't work) that I would never have found without this website. Many, many thanks

I also had these problems when I was a child and my coaches always thought I was trying to get out of atheltics. I still have this problem. I get anxiety about getting hot and being put in situations where I will get hot. If I am suffering with migraine then I cant take care of my kids. During the winter I rarely get migraines unless barometric pressure changes. If its over 75 outside and I am outside for ten minutes.....i have a migraine. I always wear sunglasses cuz I have blue eyes. I am 32 and wish I had a new head. I dont know what it is like to be outside and not get a bad headache within mins.

Hello every one,
Even i have this problem , I am from India where temperatures are as high as 40C in summers.. and in this heat just 5 -15 min exposure to sun causes me sever headache and vomiting .. Can any one suggest a permenant remedy so that we can also go in sunlight for hrs like normal people.

Thanks

I have been suffering with this problem for at least 20 years. It started while mowing grass. I thought it was an allergy to the grass. After mowing the hedache would start and not let up for at least 6 hours. Now it bothers me while golfing. Can not even play 18 holes without getting a nagging hedache. Recently, I started to vomit from this which never happened before. It is getting worse! I have to lay down in a cool dark room and wait!!! Can't tollerate any type of noise, light or scents for hours after.
I wish somebody had the answer to this sensitive problem.
Helpless in Boca Raton

I tried out the UV Sunglasses on a recent trip and they seemed to help filter out a lot of the sun, but that could also be partially due to the tinted windows in my truck. I will be having an eye exam soon hopefully to get a new better pair of sunglasses in the hopes that they will help me. This may have nothing to do with the issue for some people, but I am quite fair-skinned and relatively light-eyed and glasses (as long as they aren't $5 sunglasses or ones just for looks) seem to keep the headaches at bay.
Hope this helps
~~Catz~~