The crash is over, but the grocery store suddenly feels hostile. Ceiling lights seem sharper. Headlights fill the windshield. A phone screen that was comfortable last week now makes you squint or turn away.
Light sensitivity after a collision belongs in the medical history, especially when it is new. It can occur alongside a headache, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, eye pain or a dazed feeling. Those symptoms do not identify one cause by themselves. They do give a clinician useful reasons to examine you and decide whether you need additional evaluation.
Describe the change, not just the brightness
At an appointment, saying that light bothers you is a start. A few concrete details are more useful.
Note when the problem began. Was it present at the scene, later that evening or the next morning? Does it happen under fluorescent lights, in daylight, around headlights or while using screens? Record whether one eye or both eyes seem affected. Include anything that arrives with it, such as headache, nausea, tearing, double vision, trouble focusing or a feeling that your surroundings are moving.
Also describe what the symptom makes you stop doing. Maybe you cannot finish a grocery trip. Perhaps you dim every screen, avoid driving after dark or need breaks after ten minutes of computer work. These examples show how the problem is affecting function without asking you to assign it a diagnosis.
Why an exam may involve more than your eyes
A clinician may ask whether your head struck anything, whether you lost awareness and what you remember before and after the impact. You may be asked about headache history, migraines, glasses or contact lenses, eye disease and medications.
The examination can include pupils, eye movement, vision, balance, coordination, memory and the neck. The exact steps depend on your symptoms and medical history. Light sensitivity can accompany several different problems, so a normal-looking eye in the mirror does not settle the question.
If you already had migraines or occasional sensitivity to light, explain what is different now. A familiar symptom that is stronger, lasts longer or appears under different conditions is still important. Bring your usual migraine treatment list and say whether it helped this time.
Do not test yourself behind the wheel
Night driving may reveal the problem quickly, but traffic is not a safe place to measure it. If headlights cause squinting, disorientation, blurred vision or a sudden increase in headache, arrange another ride to the appointment if possible.
A passenger can also help with details. They may have noticed that you kept your eyes closed, missed turns or became quiet and confused after the collision. Their observations can supplement your account, but they do not replace your own description.
Small adjustments while you arrange care
You can reduce unnecessary light exposure without spending the entire day in darkness. Lower screen brightness, increase text size and take short breaks before symptoms build. Softer indoor lighting may be easier than harsh overhead fixtures. Sunglasses can help outdoors, but wearing very dark lenses continuously indoors may make ordinary light harder to tolerate for some people.
These adjustments are for comfort. They are not proof that the problem is minor, and they are not a substitute for an examination when the symptom is new after a crash.
A brief written log can help. Record the setting, how long the sensitivity lasted, accompanying symptoms and what activity you had to change. Avoid repeatedly provoking symptoms just to create an entry.
When this should move faster
Seek urgent medical attention for a sudden loss of vision, new double vision, severe eye pain, a visibly injured eye, unequal pupils, repeated vomiting, worsening confusion, fainting, weakness, trouble speaking or a rapidly worsening headache. Do not drive yourself if your vision, awareness or balance is impaired.
If none of those warning signs is present, new light sensitivity that persists or interferes with driving, work, reading or routine errands is still reasonable to have examined this week. Call ahead and mention both the collision and the visual symptom. That gives the office a chance to decide whether it can evaluate you promptly or whether another setting is more appropriate.
For a St. Louis week split by the river
If you travel between Missouri and Illinois, choose a visit you can reach without relying on a difficult night drive. Bring any discharge papers, your medication list and the name of your regular eye clinician if you have one. If you wear corrective lenses, take them with you.
The useful question is not whether the store lights are objectively too bright. It is whether your response to ordinary light changed after the crash, what comes with that change and whether it is improving. An exam can put those details into one record and help determine the next step. This information is educational and cannot diagnose the cause of your symptoms.