With days getting longer and the sun becoming more intense, it is important to know what to do if your eyes are sensitive to light. Not being tolerant to light is called light sensitivity. This can range from only being sensitive to bright lights to being affected negatively by all kinds of light at all.
Photophobia, or light sensitivity, can be a result of many conditions but it is not a disease. Infection and inflammation can lead to this and disturb your eyes. An interesting fact is that those with lighter eye color may be even more sensitive to light than those with darker eyes. The reason for this is related to the pigment of the iris. More pigment means protection from otherwise irritating light.
Color taken into account or not, albinism is usually something that goes hand in hand with light sensitivity. In addition, color deficiency, rabies, and mercury poisoning can go along with photophobia.
Knowing the cause of the photophobia is very important to being able to treat the condition. It is best to think of it as the treatment is for the cause of photophobia rather than the photophobia itself. Drugs for other functions in the body can have the side effect of light sensitivity. If this is the case it would be smart to talk to the doctor who prescribed the medication to either get off of the medication or switch to another if it causes photophobia.
If the cause of your photophobia is more related to having lighter color eyes or just natural light sensitivity, then your best bet is to use sunglasses with UV protection or make sure to have hats that sufficiently block out the harsh light.
If glasses are the path you choose for naturally sensitive eyes, there are specific lenses that can help. Photochromic lenses will darken on their own when they are outside in the sunlight and block all of the UV rays the sun gives off.
Another solution for very severe light sensitivity is prosthetic contacts. These will look just like your eyes but are made specially to be a protective barrier from light directly reaching your eyes.
Eyes are very delicate and as you know, important to a lot of functioning and it is not worth risking eye sight to fix photophobia on your own. Please consult a doctor before picking a medium through which to protect your eyes.