Sensitivity to colors

amother

Tue, Aug 02 2022, 9:47 pm

Hi,
One of my kids has been telling me somewhat recently that wearing certain colors bothers her eyes. At first it seemed like brighter colors but recently I bought a maroon-ish colored dress for her and when she was going to try it on she told me that that color bothers her eyes, as does dark blue/navy.
I'm trying to understand why these colors (I would not have thought dark colors would), and in general to understand why these bother her.
I know she is sensory in regards to certain things.
If anyone here experiences something similar and could explain it to me so I could understand it better I would really appreciate it!
Thanks!

amother

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 12:49 am

She's 7. I don't think it's that she's experiencing tangible physical pain, she's not complaining as though it's something that's hurting her. She just comments to me sometimes before she puts on a certain colors something like an oh by the way, this type of color bothers my eyes. I first thought it was just bright colors because she made the comment to me about those and I figured the same way bright neon colors could bother the eyes, she's just more sensitive and other similar colors bother her.
But then she mentioned this thing about dark colors like maroon and navy.

Unless maybe it's strong colors that bother her? And very dark colors are strong? I know she's told me soft pink does not bother her eyes when we've chosen what color tops to get.
But obviously these stronger colors are not bothering her enough that she can't wear it. Her uniform has plenty of navy in it! And maroon too! So it's not something that that she is in a lot of pain about. It seems to be more a discomfort.

She does complain of headaches sometimes though. I never correlated the two but maybe they are related. I always assumed it was if she did not sleep enough or drink enough, etc.

I'll see if I can get her to describe more of what exactly bothers her.
I definitely can ask an ot or someone more knowledgeable about these sensory things.
She's been to an opthalmologist twice regarding checking something else out and B"H nothing seemed to come up when they checked out her eyes.

balance

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 12:58 am

It doesn't sound so sensory. Sensory sensitivity to colors is usually if they are too bright or clashing with whatever is near them. Have you tried a behavioral opthalmologist? Some people, if they look from dark colors to light and back again, their eyes take longer to adjust and it can be physically painful like when you go suddenly from a dark room into the sun. That could explain why it only happens sometimes.

It also explains the headaches. They could be from eyestrain.

amother

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 1:17 am

balance wrote:

Interesting. What is a behavioral ophthalmologist?
This type of thing would not be picked up in an extensive check-up at a regular pediatric ophthalmologist?

amother

Lotus

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 3:03 am

I could very well be sensory. Are these colours she dislikes? For a sensory person, just looking at a disliked colour can be very uncomfortable. I know people who hate certain colours, they can't even let their children wear them. It makes them literally sick looking at them, like giving them a real headache.

amother

Hyssop

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 4:02 am

amother [ Lotus ] wrote:

That is SO interesting! I have a dd who started being really particular about clothing when she was 2. I thought she's just really picky and wondered how much I should push and how much to give in. She is pretty sensory, so I'm thinking it might have been what you described here. Now she's 6 and B"H she's outgrown a lot of it already.

amother

Wed, Aug 03 2022, 7:54 am

balance wrote:

I asked her this morning to explain a little more about what exactly bothers her. She told me that when she looks at something dark and then looks at other stuff it is harder for her to see the other stuff. This sounds like what you were saying... So now what should I do to find out more about this?