LED-light 'allergy'

[qwertyydude]

I'll have to say this is more a case of hypochondria than anything. How many people say the same thing that they get headaches if they stand in cfl lights. Exept they don't get the headaches when you don't tell them the lights are cfl. I read a post here before about someone who's wife would get headaches when they switched to cfl lights, but they were cool white cfls. So she put back the incans. Trouble was the husband then secretly put back warm white cfls and she couldn't tell the difference but when hubby said she was in cfl light all of a sudden lo and behold here come the headaches. Should have just switched to those incan lookalike cfl bulbs and not say a word.

 

[IMSabbel]

Now, i've heard of quite some strange allergies in my life (i actually have a couple myself) but recently i found out a colleague of a friend is actually allergic to led light... No, not PWM or flickering but the actual light produced by LEDs (this was actually diagnosed by a doctor). Symptoms are dizziness, headache and the likes.

Now this got me thinking; What on earth does LED light have that could make one over-sensitive to it?

Hm. I am a bit hesitating, but cant help myself from calling bullshit. I just have witnessed to many stories about doctors diagnosing crap from microwave radiation to water vein fields.

It would be trivial to reproduce the spectrum with some filters on non led light.
Do a double blind, if he also is allergic to light of the same spectral composition from other sources it would be quite interesting to see why. If not -> psychosomatic nutcase basket.

---

Just to make it clear: There are real cases of light "allergy". They can be quite crippling to the people involved. But most of them are extreme UV oversensitivity.

On the one poster with his friend who freaks out when a cell phone goes off: He should really go to Randi, as he clearly as a mystic superpower that has not ever been verified before.

 

[GregWormald]

If it's true he's going to have to give up driving as all the stop lights and car indicators are changing to LED.

Greg

 

[Chicago X]

Since all allergies, by definition, are protein sensitivities, there must be a misunderstanding.

A wavelength issue would preclude exposure to sunlight as well as most man-made sources.

I would agree with those who espouse the PWM theory - flickering lights can have a whole host of side effects.

 

[rx78gp02]

All I know is if i have the feeling of a sneeze coming, I grab one of my lights flash it into my eyes.

Apparently looking into a light can help induce a sneeze.

 

[Flying Turtle]

All I know is if i have the feeling of a sneeze coming, I grab one of my lights flash it into my eyes.

Apparently looking into a light can help induce a sneeze.

This I can go along with. My wife will occasionally have what she calls a "sun sneeze". Might have happened to me a couple times, too.

Geoff

 

[PhotonWrangler]

This I can go along with. My wife will occasionally have what she calls a "sun sneeze". Might have happened to me a couple times, too.

Geoff

Sun induced sneezes are fairly common. It happens to me and a few of my friends. I personally suspect that it's a combination of the wince response and sudden, uneven heating of the mucous membranes in the nose, causing microscopic shifting of the "stuff" in there, causing the brain to perceive this as an inhaled irritant that it needs to expel. I don't think this is a actually a true allergy in the traditional sense of the term.

The only thing that's different about LED light compared to other sources (besides the flickering or PWM artifacts) is the more monochromatic nature of the light source. I believe this is one of the reasons why LED traffic lights seem to punch through the visual clutter better than incandescents. I think the other reason is that the outline of the illuminated area is very crisp and sharp, unlike the gaussian distribution of traditional incandescent traffic lights.

Getting back to the monochromatic nature of LEDs, I don't see this as an irritant. :shrug:

 

[applevision]

I have something similar, but not a "true alergy".
When I go from indoors, to a bright sunny environment I will sneeze up a storm. 7 sneezes is not uncommon.
Doesn't happen everytime, but very often.
I was told, the bright light triggers "something" that my brain is interpreting as a nasal irritant and I sneeze away.
This is also why many people look at a bright light when they feel a sneeze coming on, it helps trigger the sneeze.
Wonder if this is what he experiences with the LED.

Right, this is not an allergy at all. This is photic sneeze reflex, very common:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photic_sneeze_reflex

Although there are light-sensitive conditions such as chronic actinic dermatitis (http://dermnetnz.org/reactions/chronic-actinic-dermatitis.html) in which folks can be sensitive to even visible (non-UV) light, this does not sound anything like that...

Hmmm...

 

[Mr Bigglow]

If a doctor told me I was allergic to lights, I'd get a 2nd opinion.

I'd just get a new doctor, only this time a medical one with a diploma.

 

[bodhran]

The symptoms described sound more like a sensitivity to LED lights rather than an Allergic reaction. Still annoying, and heaven forbid it's something contagious.

 

[deadrx7conv]

I get the same symptoms when I go to work. I knew it. I'm allergic to work.

The medical field wants to prescribe and treat you for life. Once they got you in their claws, you're stuck.

 

[RepProdigious]

Well, i sent my girl out with some very specific questions and heres what came up;

The person in question calls in an allergy because it takes less explaining (most people dont care about the definition of allergy but do understand that the person gets something bad when allergic to something). So this was unlike to what my lady thought to have picked up not an official diagnosis!

He also isn't just allergic to led's but to cool light, high contrast differences and high frequency flickering light (like PWM) or combinations thereof and not knowing anything about current led technology he just figures he was unable to withstand any led light but i'm pretty convinced that a nice high cri led without pwm shouldn't do him any harm....

Still, im quite interested to find out where exactly the boundries of his irritations are and i think for him this would be good to know as well because right now he's having the hardest time when buying a new TV, notebook or just common household lighting... Oldschool light-bulbs are being phased out here in the Netherlands to be replaced by energy-saving technologies..... Oh well, maybe hell ask for my help one day!

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Well, i sent my girl out with some very specific questions and heres what came up;

The person in question calls in an allergy because it takes less explaining (most people dont care about the definition of allergy but do understand that the person gets something bad when allergic to something). So this was unlike to what my lady thought to have picked up not an official diagnosis!

He also isn't just allergic to led's but to cool light, high contrast differences and high frequency flickering light (like PWM) or combinations thereof and not knowing anything about current led technology he just figures he was unable to withstand any led light but i'm pretty convinced that a nice high cri led without pwm shouldn't do him any harm....

Still, im quite interested to find out where exactly the boundries of his irritations are and i think for him this would be good to know as well because right now he's having the hardest time when buying a new TV, notebook or just common household lighting... Oldschool light-bulbs are being phased out here in the Netherlands to be replaced by energy-saving technologies..... Oh well, maybe hell ask for my help one day!

Both of these make sense. I heard of a guy who always specified that he was "lawsuit allergic" to wheat. He started this after waitresses would brush croutons off his salad after he asked a second time to have it with no croutons.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

He also isn't just allergic to led's but to cool light, high contrast differe

This makes me wonder if he's developing cataracts. I believe that shorter wavelengths and/or high contrast tend to create more glare.

 

[Mdinana]

Since all allergies, by definition, are protein sensitivities, there must be a misunderstanding.

A wavelength issue would preclude exposure to sunlight as well as most man-made sources.

I would agree with those who espouse the PWM theory - flickering lights can have a whole host of side effects.

Seriously. You can't have an allergy without degranulating your eosinophils (by definition). Those cause the itching, drop in blood pressure, swelling eyes, throat, etc ... mild cases are termed things like "hay fever," severe cases termed "anaphylaxis."

Headaches and dizziness are NOT an allergic reaction. Heck, they're not even an anaphalactoid reaction.

Sensitivity? Sure. Different medical disease (ie, brain tumor)? Sure. Hypochondria. Really sure. Allergy? No way in hell.

 

[Flying Turtle]

"Degranulating your eosinophils" sounds like fun, but isn't it illegal in some states? :nana:

Geoff

 

[petersmith6]

it more likly to be down to the distribution of the spectra coming from the emiter.i had a pertucular cheap and nasty led that would give me migrains, haver running some tests i found it prouducing a gapy spectra manly in the blue and some near UV. i changed the emiter and all was ok. it a comon misconception the white LED's produce white light.some people dont like or cant stand the lack of warmth from them