Eyewear for Migraine Sufferers- Axon Optics Review

I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company. “

Certain wavelengths of light have been known to aggravate migraines as some people have an oversensitive pain pathway—one that overreacts to certain wavelengths of light and deems them harmful, causing pain. The resulting light sensitivity (photophobia) can be responsible for a number of light-sensitive conditions— including migraines. It’s been found that by blocking certain wavelengths of light, 60% of people who experience migraines see a reduction in the frequency and severity of their migraines.

This is where Axon Optics light sensitivity glasses come in. They have several different choices of glasses:

• Indoor migraine glasses
• Migraine sunglasses
• Light sensitivity glasses
• Migraine contact lenses

I chose to try Axon Optics HANNIK – Migraine Glasses for Migraine Relief and Light Sensitivity Relief (Outdoor Lens with Premium Coatings). I was thrilled to have a chance to review these glasses as light sensitivity has long been a problem for me. My husband often accuses me of wanting to live in a cave because I cannot stand to have the lights on in my house. Florescent lights have long given me headaches and made my eyes hurt. Luckily for me I live in a very sunny place so I can often rely on sunlight as a light source, but that doesn’t help me when I’m out and about and suffering from overly bright lights in other places.

How do these glasses work?

The tinting filters problematic wavelengths of light therefore minimizing the amount of painful light entering the eye.

How are these better than sunglasses?

Many sunglasses make all colors dimmer, not just the portions of the spectrum that are irritating. To balance that out, you might have to wear glasses that are fairly dark and those can actually make light sensitivity worse when you take off the glasses.

My experience

I love my glasses and I wear them everywhere.  I doubt anyone even knows what they really are as they just look like sunglasses. I’ve been using my glasses the most for when I stare at screens. I spend a lot of time on the computer, on my phone, or on my e-reader and that can give me a headache. The glasses have made a huge difference in the amount of headaches I get for staring at screens for too long. I’ve also used them outside and found them very effective. I actually prefer them to my sunglasses.

I’ve also noticed that in some situations the glasses help with light sensitivity. During the day when I’m in public I wear my glasses to dim the effects of florescent lights and they have really made a difference. However, at night when I’m home and the lights are on and it’s dark outside, the glasses actually make the glare of the lights worse. For some reason they seem to make the light reflect strangely bright and it gives me a headache. So at night I can only wear the glasses if the light is off and I’m using them for looking at screens.

Despite the fact that this specific pair didn’t work for me at night, I love these glasses. I wear them everywhere because they’ve lessened both the frequency and the severity of my headaches.