Migraine

I've had a very good morning with only about a "2" migraine - so enjoying it.

And then I sat down to look at my email and get on this forum, my headache immediately escalated to about a "7" and I'm, super nauseous.

2 + 2 = 4 Is my computer a trigger for my migraines? Is it the light or the humming sound? or something else?

What to do? I'm in deep weeds as I have to use the computer alot for my job.

Suggestions???

Cyn

My computer is a trigger for me. I have the brightness down to the lowest level and wear sunglasses and sometimes I still will get a migraine. There has been discussion on this subject if you search, from monitor screens to the flicker when a page refreshes. I also find that if I am starting to feel better and go online my head will increase and so will my nausea. You are not alone. Good luck in finding what helps you!

lisa

It could be all kinds of things. It could be flicker. It could be glare. It could be brightness. It could be humming. It could be just about anything you might be sensitive to. There are filters you can put over the screen for glare and the like. Most computers also have some kind of built in accessory for adjusting background colors, and appearance for visually impairments. You might look off of the programs menu in the applications folder for places you might make adjustments. Do consider using the search tool on the site to bring up other threads with ideas, too. We've had more than one discussion, I know.

Thanks y'all! I will do a search on it!!

Cyn

Hi Cyn,

In this article, there are some tips on how to deal with triggers in the office. This includes the computer and lights. Maybe you will find something that helps you in it.


Migraines at Work? Check the Lighting

I understand the part about the light, but I have been doing some research about whether or not the high pitched sound that some computers put off or even the frequency put out by Wireless can trigger migraines.

I was out of town for the weekend. Felt the best I had in months. Never had a migraine over a three - walked in my house and within 60 seconds had a severe migraine.

I use all scent free products. I thought about what I had changed in my home about a year ago when this irretractible migraine begain and the answer that I can think of is that I put wifi in.

I googled it and found that there are reports of headaches associated with wifi. I'm going to undo mine for a couple of weeks and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks for the article, Nancy!

Cyn

Another issue I've found isn't related to the computers, their noise, or the lighting at all. If you have differences in your work spaces in different places in terms of height and placement and that kind of thing, even if it's a subtle difference, it can have a big impact if it's physically straining, and the physical stress is helping to trigger you. I've learned this in spades working at the pool in the summers in the ticket office. Nothing there is a good ergonomic fit for me, and even with making accommodations to seating and things, I suffer. Now that I'm away from that, and able to do things at a better height, my fibro, migraines, and neck issues are all much better. I'd say the height difference between the pool counter and the workspace I have at school is an inch, tops. But the impact is huge! It might be that you're having an issue physically readjusting to something now that you've been away from it, in part.

Good point!

Thanks all!

Cyn

question about computer screens-

i don't know if this question will make sense to anyone, but does anyone find it makes a difference in the type of computer screen, for example,

i just got a MAC. It has a glossy screen, this is different from the dell i just had that had LCD screen if that makes any sense.

the reason i ask, is that i am currently in a IT class that meets from 2-3 hours (1 sitting) a week. I have the option of bringing either the dell or sitting at a MAC. i have found I get a couple more headaches if i sit at the MAC for a longer period of time but I'm not sure if this is just kind of a temporary thing until I get used to having a MAC or if this is something that is sort of a trend.

Thanks for the input.

Best.

The type of screen can make a difference, and it can do so in a number of ways. I've heard people talk about issues with glare, having a non-flat screen, flicker rate, and so on. The tilt can make a difference, too, especially if you have issues with muscle tension that help trigger you. Looking at a screen for a while at even a slight slant can have you craning muscles without you realizing it and cause all kinds of tension. Been there, done that. Frequent breaks and stretching are what I find help this. I suppose eye strain can help trigger some of us, too. Breaks are good for that, too.

quote:

Originally posted by soccerstudentnurse:
question about computer screens-

i don't know if this question will make sense to anyone, but does anyone find it makes a difference in the type of computer screen, for example,

i just got a MAC. It has a glossy screen, this is different from the dell i just had that had LCD screen if that makes any sense.

the reason i ask, is that i am currently in a IT class that meets from 2-3 hours (1 sitting) a week. I have the option of bringing either the dell or sitting at a MAC. i have found I get a couple more headaches if i sit at the MAC for a longer period of time but I'm not sure if this is just kind of a temporary thing until I get used to having a MAC or if this is something that is sort of a trend.

Thanks for the input.

Best.

YES. I'm a freelance animator and designer, so I live on my computer. I have two sitting on my desk, a Mac and a PC. I LOOOOVE my Mac, and swear by it for everything I do...it never crashes, and it runs amazingly. I only use my PC for 3D animation, because the software doesn't work on a Mac. However...I have noticed that I get more headaches from the screen on my Mac, though. I can stare for hours at the PC screen and not get eye strain as badly. I wonder why?

Oh, I forgot to suggest, one thing that has helped me to remember to take eye breaks is a free program you can download (google it) called "Time Out." You can set a time interval, and it will periodically remind you to take a break and just blink your eyes or get up and stretch for a moment. A big helper in preventing those eye-strain headaches that can develop into a migraine!

That "TimeOut" thingie sounds kind of neat. Sometimes I listen to music while on the computer, and I'll use the break at the end of a song to serve as a cue. But something that pops up in front of someone with a visual clue would be even better.

Computers can be a big trigger for me - that's often the reason I disappear from the forum from time to time.

I've found several culprits:

1. The type of monitor. The old CRTs kill my head because of the flicker (also called "refresh rate"). Newer flat screens are better.

2. Glossy vs matte screens. My HP laptop has a glossy screen, and it produced a terrible amount of glare. I bought a glare screen for it that has done a lot to reduce glare. The glare screen I bought is THIS ONE. It was a pain to install but totally worth it.

3. Brightness of the screen. I have the brightness turned *way* down.

4. Blinking or animated icons/ads on the web. I use Firefox as my internet browser with AdBlock, which blocks most of the flashy ads on internet sites. (Helps them to load faster, too.) A little trick I learned - if there are animated icons on a webpage, if you hit the escape key, it will stop them from moving.

5. Size of the screen/how close I sit to it. If the computer screen takes up a lot of my visual field, it's more likely to bother me. This is one of the reasons I prefer to work on my laptop (small screen).

6. The lighting source on most monitors (laptops included) is fluorescent. So, if you have a problem with regular fluorescent lighting, that can contribute to computer-related problems. Some newer Macs are available with LED light sources, but they're typically more expensive. (A little hint: if you see any warnings on your monitor about it containing mercury, that means it has a fluorescent lighting source.)

Hope this helps...

Great tips, MJ!

I FINALLY can say that I can look at a regular CRT monitor without diving for my meds... but that's only because of a preventive med that I'm taking. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only thing I got out of the preventive... but that's another story!

I have a MacBook laptop, and I had to buy a more expensive TV just to find something that wouldn't aggravate my head.

DH and I went from one store to another, staring at TV screens, until I learned that I needed to get a HDTV with the full 1080Hz, and not a smaller TV that was still Hi-def due to the higher refresh rate on the full 1080 one!

It wasn't enough for me to just find the higher refresh rate TV. We discovered that the combinations of glossy and matte parts of the screen and frame around it were different between each brand and model in the store! I had to find the perfect "Jamie=TV" that was still bright enough and sharp enough for DH to fall in love with the clarity of our purchase.

I know I just rambled on about TVs, and the question was about Computers, but it's basically the same principle for me. The fact that the TV screen is bigger is WONDERFUL. When I use a computer monitor, I make what I'm working on larger, and I don't care that the screen has the capability of supporting a better picture quality. For me, the reduced eye strain is worth every penny!

I have to say that even with a MacBook, I did buy a glare filter, when I was at my worst. It made using the computer that much easier. At my old job, they had to accommodate my need for a glare filter so that I could work, and I was the only one in the office using one, although others would have liked to use one, they were too cheap to supply everyone with a glare filter that would clip on to an LCD screen.

When I was laid off, one friend who knew that I had been using it, and why I had needed it, asked if I could give it to him when I was packing my things up, and was planning to turn it back in to the IT dept. Turns out, he had been working in the dark for years- the screen glare hurt his eyes, and he'd get "headaches" after using the computer for too long.

Hmm... Perhaps I HADN'T been the only Migraineur working there...

Hope my rambling may have helped in some