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You are here: Home / Individual Stories / Adam – Czech Republic

Adam – Czech Republic

January 24, 2018 Filed Under: Individual Stories

Three years ago I bought a new computer for work and noticed I got bad headaches and then migraines within minutes of working on it and trying to use it. I use prescription glasses  but those do not make

any difference. I returned the device.  Later I noticed that other new laptops, smartphones etc. also cause me migraines. Some within minutes, some within seconds of using them.

 

I did research on this, as my work as a photographer could become impossible with this problem. So far I have been able to pin down LED flicker as one cause (LED dimming is mostly always done by flickering the lights on and off). I have measured this with an oscilloscope and confirmed it as a problem.However, even with some displays that do not flicker, the problem persists. My other guess then is spectral distribution of light, blue-light and possibly UV light emittance from cheap LEDs. I have not able to test this yet, because I do not have a proper spectrometer.

 

A neurologist diagnosed me with general migraine disorder triggered by specific light sources and said there is not much they can do, as migraines in general are not well understood yet.

What I do know is that if you put two smartphones next to each other, the modern one can cause me immediate migraines, while the other older one I can use for hours with no problems.

I might have neurological problems, but my guess is that the light quality is not controlled, panels in displays are equipped with cheap and bad LEDs and that is the reason for the issues.

Filed Under: Individual Stories

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