Flickering Lights

I know this has probably been discussed many times before, but I'm interested to hear people's experiences. I've noticed that I've become much more aware of my bathroom spotlights flickering (incandescent bulbs) lately. And they're driving me mad! I have an optician friend who says that even when we can't actually say that we see a light flickering our brains are aware of flickering so those of us who have sensitive migraine brains aren getting overstimulated.

WHAT DO WE DO? HOW DO WE MAKE IT STOP?!!!

I have an internal bathroom with no windows so I can't even reduce it that way.


HELP!

Ordinary fluorescent lights don't seem to bother me if they are working correctly. They don't cause any direct discomfort. Whether they can trigger my migraines, I don't know. Faulty fluorescent lighting (flickering) is definitely very uncomfortable and is certain to trigger a migraine if I am exposed to it for more than a few minutes.

I have never been able to tolerate strobe lights or flahing lights. Discos and many live shows are out for me because the lighting effects can be quite uncomfortable and do trigger migraines.

Fluorescent light do flicker at twice the AC power supply frequency. I don't think the brain can detect flickering at over 100Hz. However if it's faulty and flickers at 50Hz or 60Hz, then I think some people can detect that. The slower it flickers, the easier it is to detect. Faulty starters of ballasts cause the lights to flicker irregularly. I think this is the most noticeable kind of fault and is uncomfortable for most people. For me it's a sure way to trigger a migraine.

If there is a steady power supply, there is almost no flicker from an incandescent lamp as the filament doesn't have sufficient time to cool down between AC cycles.

Both Fluorescent and incandescent lights come in a variety of tones. Choosing an appropriate tone can make a big difference in comfort levels for me.

Fab info Piwakawka

I have major problems with lights and have collapsed in shops due to the lighting - (I rarely go near a supermarket for this reason - shopping comes to me) I can trigger a mig from the flicker of trees / sunlight...

But having a problem with incandescent bulbs is rare - it is normally the new low energy ones which people have a problem with....

But saying that we have replaced all the switches in our house with dimmers, so I can adjust the light as I need to... and our bathroom light is now controlled from the outside of the room...

Is it only the bathroom this happens? I just asked hubby and he suggests checking the light fitting - as they should not flicker - (he is a property developer) he says a loose wire can make them flicker.......... he said he would 1) change the bulb, if that did not work, get someone to check the wiring, if that is fine, then change the fitting to one which has a cover over so you cannot see the bulb... also try a bulb with a covering on it - ie a pearl effect as this makes the light softer on the eyes..........

It might help...

I know when I have a bath I have to have the lights off.... so at night I use big church candles... I have also been known to have a soak in sunglasses hee hee

xx

Some dimmers work not by reducing the voltage to the lamp, but by switching of the electricity part way through each AC cycle. This increases the flickering effect and can even cause incandescent lamps to flicker very slightly. So if you are very sensitive, then dimming the light might be worse than using a lower wattage lamp at full power.