Headache related to a specific screen flickering frequency band

• Published in: Cephalalgia Vol. 24; no. 5; p. 408
• Main Authors: Kowacs, P A, Piovesan, E J, Werneck, L C, Fameli, H, Pereira da Silva, H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-05-2004
• Subjects: Adult; Computer Terminals; Headache - etiology; Humans; Male; Photic Stimulation - adverse effects
• ISSN: 0333-1024
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2982.2004.00686.x

The case of a 25-year-old white male, who had migrainous headaches each time he sat in front of his personal computer screen, is described. Changing the screen frequency from 60 to 75 Hz through a Windows command could abolish the headaches. In several surveys, computer screens have been reported to be a migraine trigger. We hypothesize that this environmental trigger may be related to the abnormal flicker fusion thresholds that have been described in migraineurs. It may be that modifying the frequencies of light sources, such as computer screens, could become a non-pharmacological approach to prevent migraine attacks.