Problems with Fluorescent Lighting

General
1

Does anyone else have problems with fluorescent lights? I've discovered it takes about three minutes under these lights before symptoms arrive. My eyes and head get sore, my balance goes, I become nauseous, I can't string a sentence together and I get a bit disoriented etc.

My problem is that I have to go back to my teaching job in about two weeks, to a class room full of fluorescent lights. Other than turning the lights off, which is impractical, has anyone found a successful way of dealing with this problem. If I can't solve it, I fear I'll have to resign from my job, one that I really love doing.

Thanks

Poppy

2

Would wearing tinted glasses help?

3

Dear Poppy,

i have got very related problems. You seem to suffer from a sort of photosensibility/radiosensibility.

Your country, New Zealand, has signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of People of Disability (2007, 2008). See:

http://www.un.org/disabilities/countries.asp?id=166

Your state is obliged to do accommodations on your working place so that you are able to continue your teaching despite your photosensibility.

You have got the right to work fully integrated on your working place.

There must be organisations/places where you can go with your problem. At nearly all University Clinics (at least in Vienna) there are existing department for poisons at the working place and similar. Or the person responsible for the working personal on your school is competent for that. You should have the right for an exchange of the flourescent lights in the classrooms where you have to work.

If this would not be accepted, you would have to fight.

Maybe you can get a diagnosis soon.

Personally i am only in the diagnosis stage. There also seem to be different diseases conected with photosensibility, so that your special sensibility could be connected to another disease -not AT.

In my case i am almost sure, that i am carrier/patient of at least one mutation of AT Ataxia Telangiectasia. Radiosensitivity is one of the typical features of this disease, but there are many persons never learning that they are carriers of only one mutation of this mostly autosomal dominant heriditary ataxia, because one mutation needs not to be disease causing. I am sensitive on electricity, too, without special radiation. This causes walking problems and balance difficulties. Vertigo.

But - with one ATM mutation carrying (which is the case in so 1 % of mankind) you can experience some sorts of radio - and photosensibility without having the AT-Symptoms.

Now, what do you want to do first?

Please let me know, and then i would perhaps be able to write you more..

Kind regards,

Akita

4

I do. My personal bug bear is supermarket lights..I can walk in fine and within minutes I'm getting wobbly! (I'm sure my husband thinks I am trying to get out of doing the shopping!!) I haven't found a way of dealing with it, except to go slowly and lean on the trolley..not really practical in your case!

Is there any way you can request to use only classrooms with good natural light?

Jules

5

I don't have problems with my Ataxia and fluorescent lighting but there are plenty of people on this site who do.

6

I am a Lupus patient that has had issues with photo sensitivity for many years. It causes me to have migraines and seizure activity. Since being diagnosed last year with ataxia, it has become progressively worse and causes me to become dizzy, confused and disoriented. Truly dislike. I have found that wearing my sun glasses in shops, stores, or any place with the offensive lighting helps cut down on my sensitivity and negative reaction. Hope you find a solution that works for you. Keep smiling!

7

Thanks RainyGirl. I've recently found a site (https://www.theraspecs.com/details/?openstorepage=home) that sells glasses with a particular tint on them that are supposed to help with this problem so I'm planning on asking my optician whether he can do something along those lines for me. Fingers crossed it works.

RainyGirl said:

I am a Lupus patient that has had issues with photo sensitivity for many years. It causes me to have migraines and seizure activity. Since being diagnosed last year with ataxia, it has become progressively worse and causes me to become dizzy, confused and disoriented. Truly dislike. I have found that wearing my sun glasses in shops, stores, or any place with the offensive lighting helps cut down on my sensitivity and negative reaction. Hope you find a solution that works for you. Keep smiling!
8

Hi Poppy
I have blaphrospasm & Apraxia (eyes) , Ataxia also.
The eye Dr. told me to wear non glare sunglasses any Polaroid ,they are what I wear. Tt was for sun - snow -bright lights .
I found that florescent light brought back all the pain etc , head aches.I was hesitant about wearing them indoors in public , My friends joke about the glamor gal There is such a wide variety of frames
.Florescent lighting is horrible Due to my eye of issues I put other
things like balance & more were happening at the same time I avoided the lights but after reading you letter , it makes sense .
I hope yo give them a try .
Good Luck Poppy !
Lassie Elena

9

In my view this depends on the legal situation in the country in which you work/live. Principally an attorney should be able to provide you with the information where to go next for help. In all developped countries there are existing disablity organisations. For me it seems not realistic to get good natural light in a working place, but maybe the changing of the lamps in a classroom to not-flourenscent lamps could be possible. But i cannot speak for another country. Also in mine this would perhaps cost weeks and months of phonecalls and dialogue meetings, and lobbying for to get such changes. From the UN-Convention - if the state would have signed it, you would have the right for the "best standard of health", also on the working place (in the reality this is might often not be the case). The next solution in Austria perhaps would be that a teacher would be offered to change to another school with lamps she could cope with. But for such things normally you need a diagnosis, - otherwise they would perhaps not consider you as a serious person.

Too much written,

Kind regards,

Akita

---

Is there any way you can request to use only classrooms with good natural light?

Jules



Macforme said:

10

Hi poppy, don’t want to contribute to the conversation but was surprised that you are from NZ and are a teacher because I am too … Never seen anyone on here from NZ before. What type of Ataxia? Mine is EA2 but have been told I’m the only one in NZ with that. Anyway just wanted to say hi.

11

I was a teacher til 4 years but have since retired on grounds of ill healtn.Best thing I ever did.I am in the Uk and I have CA.

12

Hi Poppy,

i have found:

Light Sensitivity to flourescent Light - Discussions of the "Eye Care Community" provide a lot of contributions and ideas.from people affected by the problem:

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Eye-Care/Light-sensitivity-to-fluoresc...

e.g.

"Remove the tubes above your workstation. Removing a tube or two will not affect the general brightness of the office. Office lighting tend to be a bit bright to maintain certain level of illumination, though they can be a bit overkill. "

or

"Replace the fluorescent lights with LED lights. Its save more energy than flourescent lights."

This company sells LED lights (but there are surely more):

http://www.lampenwelt.at/Innenleuchten/Deckenleuchten/LED-Deckenleu...

Could not this lamp be used in a classroom? Or more of them? You would need more than one, but this could hopefully be not too expensive..with Euro 48,30 per lamp plus electrician.

http://www.lampenwelt.at/Innenleuchten/Deckenleuchten/LED-Deckenleu...

An completely unsolved and undiscussed problem for me as far as i could read is the question of radiosensitivity to ultraviolet radiation which is a part of the flourescent lightening, and which problems in which persons must be contributed to ultraviolet radiation.

Has anyone got experiences with LED - lamps?

Kind regards,

Akita

13

I worked as an electrician (many years ago)

when installing any amount of strip lights,

It was considered good practice (and common sense) to make sure they where installed within certain parameters.

electrical current has a frequency of between 50-60 Hertz, each lamp will differ slightly within this range - causing flicker

thus any lamp within an area will produce a Flicker at differing "Milli Seconds"

therefore these issues HAVE to be taken into account, by the installer (many installers DO NOT adhere to this!)

As said maybe a cchange in workstation position, or (Employer can re-lamp (change to other lighting))

The employer HAS to make reasonable ajustments for their workers.

or there is the wearing of "Flicker correctional lenses" for glasses (I have never come accross these, as this should never be nessarcery, in the first place!)

Alan

14

Apparently there are high frequency fluorescent lights now available. The tubes are the same but the fittings will need to be changed to high frequency fittings. These cost about 50% more than standard (mains frequency) fittings.

They offer many advantages in addition to being flicker free, as the operating frequency of 30khz is above the audible range; they do not hum like the conventional tubes.

Many workplaces will be changing to these as they become the norm.

15

I wonder if different people could be sensitive to different "ingredients" of the fluorescent lights. Estimating that it would be too late to help Poppy because her first school day has already been happening, i hope that she could find a solution for not to lose her job.

i had a phone call with one of the university departments at the end of last week; it was for protection of workers on their workingplaces in regard of poisons (i had been there for an ambulance beginning January to test if i would have too much lead and other metals in my body..). She told me that her department was not competent for photosensivity. Maybe an environmental department.. There would be these flourescent lights in the whole building. In her opinion, no employee could have been taken damnage by it, otherwise she would have noticed that.. That s typical.. I guess,that a lot of employées could suffer from headache caused by these lights, and nobody would believe that this was from the lights; and that those who react by vertigo etc,are in the vast minority, probably diagnosed with a psychiatric disease if she/would not be able to hide the symptoms.

For billing and diagnosis the actual ICD-9 for photosensitivity is:

http://www.icd9data.com/2012/Volume1/680-709/690-698/692/692.79.htm

2012 ICD-9-CM Diagnosis Code 692.79

Other dermatitis due to solar radiation

  • Photosensitivity; increased sensitivity of the skin to light and other sources of UV.
  • Short description: Oth dermatitis solar rad.
  • ICD-9-CM 692.79 is a billable medical code that can be used to specify a diagnosis on a reimbursement claim.
  • You are viewing the 2012 version of ICD-9-CM 692.79.
  • More recent version(s) of ICD-9-CM 692.79: 2013.

In the flourescent lights there is ultraviolet light. This light has to pass the skin to cause vertigo etc, in a presensibilized person. So maybe a doctor could diagnose such a person with this code. I could not find another,actual.

This could allow to go in a sick leave for some time, in which time a better solution as the actual working situation could be explored.

Kind regards,

Akita

Kind regards,

Akita

16

This will be the code valid from 2014:

http://www.icd10data.com/ICD10CM/Index/P/Photosensitivity%2c_photos...

I fear that it will last another some years till the photosensitivy on the working place with be recognized..

A review from 2011 says that "Occupational ultraviolet light exposure increases the risk
for the development of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis". (Pubmed).

Maybe not the medical explanation will help to change the actual apparently triste situation for the photosensitivity on the working place, but first of all social science studies which prove that and how many people are actually losing their working place because of this problem..(Interviews, questionnaries.)

Akita