Christmas lights causing epilepsy seizures

[Still Waters]

A woman with epilepsy said she has suffered eight seizures this month because of flashing Christmas lights.

Azza Booth, from Nottingham, said she normally has one or two seizures a month but decorations on people's houses and trees trigger her condition.

She said the problem is worse this year and asked people to be more considerate of the health risks.

Epilepsy Action said photosensitive epilepsy is rare but it is safer for people to not use the flash settings.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-46504844

[+and-then]

I guess she doesn't have much of a chance to drive or get out in cities that have flashing neons, either.  Sad.

[freetoroam]

This does not surprise me.

On lights, there is a house with hundreds of flashing lights along the road which i drive on on my way home from work, you do not see them until you turn the bend and i am surprised there has not been an accident yet, they are quite alarming and are very near the road.

What were they.thinking, that people would slow down to look at their lights while driving? 

A few lights ok, but these are near on a National Lampoon job.

 

[Grandpa Greenman]

I think strobe lights are a problem with enough people they shouldn't be used in public displays and people should give a care when putting them up at home. They give me migraines. People who have active epilepsy aren't allowed to drive, that is how it is here in the states anyway. 

[freetoroam]

2 minutes ago, Grandpa Greenman said:

I think strobe lights are a problem with enough people they shouldn't be used in public displays and people should give a care when putting them up at home. They give me migraines. People who have active epilepsy aren't allowed to drive, that is how it is here in the states anyway. 

They can not drive here either. 

If the lights could distract driving because of their flashing then i can imaging they could be bad for someone walking along the street if they have epilesy.

I quite like the lights, but not when  there are hundreds of fast flashing lights in my face. 

[aztek]

it's possible to cause a seizure or disorient a healthy person by dazzling lights,  dazzling lights were used as weapon in ww2, and in 80 USSR experimented  with flashing color patterns to use it as a weapon.

iirc there was a lawsuit, someone send an email like that to a person who had seizures. for the purpose of triggering them.

[+susieice]

I remember from my nursing training that the flashing strobe lights that were attached to fire alarms could cause seizures. We were taught that a patient will fixedly stare at them and to watch for that. It could put them into seizures.