Migraine

Migraine is a certain type of severe, recurring, headache. In a few, rare, cases headaches can be a sign of a severe health problem. If recurrent headaches start or change at any time the first thing that you should do is to see your family doctor.

Migraines can be triggered by many things, for example stress, eating chocolate, loud noises, lights, or patterns. Some people with migraine who are bothered by bright lights and patterns find comfort from wearing tinted spectacles.

The link with dyslexia

It has been claimed that some people with dyslexia (specific reading difficulty) can be helped by coloured glasses. The only way to thoroughly investigate claims like this is with a type of research called a ‘double-masked placebo-controlled trial’.

A few years ago, Professor Evans participated in such a trial to investigate this claim, and this research showed that coloured glasses do reduce headaches in some people with dyslexia, although they are not a cure for the dyslexia. The researchers found that different people need different colours and people often need to be given exactly the colour that suits them; for example, exactly the right shade of blue. This research used a new instrument, the Intuitive Colorimeter (illustrated on the left) to find what colour a person needed, and a new system of coloured lenses, Precision Tints to make up their glasses. This research was published in the journal of the College of Optometrists, Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, in 1994. These methods are now being used by many optometrists.

In the course of this research it was noticed that many people who benefited from coloured lenses had migraine in the family. This ties up with other observations suggesting that some people with migraine may be helped by precision tinted lenses.

The need for proof

It therefore seemed possible that, for some people with migraine, the frequency of headaches might be reduced with precision coloured glasses. By ‘precision’ it is that different people may need different colours and the colour may need to be precisely determined for each person.

To investigate this, a group of researchers investigated the use of precision tinted lenses for people who have migraines that are triggered by visual factors. Professor Evans, our principal optometrist, was one of the researchers in this study, which was another double masked randomised placebo controlled trial. The research was published in the journal Cephalalgia in 2002 and found that individually prescribed coloured filters can reduce the prevalence of headaches for some people with migraine.

If a person suspects that their headaches are triggered by visual factors (flickering, reading, television, or computers) then Professor Evans is able to offer them a visual investigation, including testing with the Intuitive Colorimeter.

Epilepsy

Some people with epilepsy, rather like those with migraine, find that visual stimuli (e.g., light, flicker, sometimes text) can trigger their attacks. Coloured filters can also help these people and Professor Evans will be able to advise on this.