migraines? naw. noise yes.
written by metis , January 03, 2008

CFL ballasts toss a bunch of garbage back into powerlines, which could cause some serious neutral load issues. it's noticeably absent from discussions on the lil energy friendly bundles of mercury and lead.

How sad
written by Dannah , January 03, 2008

How sad. You're right. This is exactly how these rumors spread and end up hurting good causes. besides, there may be different qualities of CFL's. We have some that you would swear are regular light bulbs and even the energy auditor didn't know they were CFL's (maybe that says more about him than the bulbs though).

I too have a concern...
written by weee , January 03, 2008

My concern is that the Daily Mail causes higher than necessary blood pressure in people foolish enough to read it. I know this as a fact because if I am careless enough to pick it up, under the impression that it's a newspaper, and open it I find my pulse rate increasing.
As an expert - on my own blood pressure - I feel qualified (in a Daily Mail style) to say absolutely unequivocally as a 'blood pressure expert' that the Daily Mail is a major risk to anyone who cares about quality reporting; and should be avoided by discerning people everywhere.

HAHAhaha
written by Hank , January 03, 2008

Thanks for that weee...I needed a laugh...

somewhat true
written by well ... , January 03, 2008

My kid's fifth grade teacher got migraines from fluorescent bulbs. So badly that he had them replace all the lights in his classroom with incandescents.

I've always been skeptical that this is some kind if placebo reaction, but I get migraines triggered by the weirdest things. All it takes is certain smells sometimes, so this doesn't seem too far fetched.

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written by Robin , January 04, 2008

No one here must suffer from migraines I'm 49 had them since i WAS 12 I have been saying this for years but instead of laughing at people, your best bet is to ask a person who suffers from these. They are not just a headache! I see people on both sides of this issue making fun of the other side instead of acting like adults and finding out facts health the enviroment ect. stop laughing and set an example for our youth! Thank You for listening

..
written by Drew , January 05, 2008

My girlfriend has suffered from chronic migraines for most of her life. We have made several lifestyle changes to alleviate their frequency. Coincidentally, during this period of time, we also converted our home completely to CFL's and LED's. The frequency of her migraines has gone down nonetheless. If they have an effect at all, it is completely insignificant in our experience!

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written by Robin , January 05, 2008

If your girlfriend has migraines then you know that every one triggers are not the same. Some can be weather or hormones, ordors, lights etc. You can check it out if you would like some sites to start your research I would more than happy to help you out!

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written by Deborah , January 05, 2008

The story is now also being carried by the BBC and CBC news websites, who are theoretically a more reputable source than the Daily Mail (whose deplorable stories are regularly debunked by Ben Goldacre in his marvelous Bad Science blog). This is classic bad science reporting: a representative of a lobby group notes that there is anecdotal evidence to suggest a link might exist, and the reporters (and the representative) jump to conclusions.

I'd like to see some solid research on whether CFLs are in fact triggering migraines, or perhaps eye-strain headaches that are easily confused with migraines. It's not inconceivable. Older CFL-type bulbs flicker like the tube fluorescents do (a known trigger), and the quality of light is different from that provided by incandescents. However, as Mr Green notes above, new CFLs are non-stroboscopic, and provide a light more comparable to that of incandescents. I think a reasonable hypothesis might be that older CFLs, or lower quality ones, but not newer high-quality CFLs, are responsible for the migraines that have been reported. I'll look forward to seeing the abstract on Medline.

Meanwhile, as both an environmentalist and migraine sufferer, I'm hoping this helps educate the public about both migraines and the new, improved CFLs...

...
written by Robin , January 06, 2008

Next time I get a migraine, which people here must not, I will tell myself that the suffering I'm going through from the floresants or my computer are just my imgination as I stand over my toilet!

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written by paolo , January 06, 2008

As a professional migraine sufferer since the age of 16, I would like to toss my hat in the ring on this...

Personally, CFLs don't trigger migraine attacks for me. Strobing light will do that just fine, but CFLs no.... and haven't heard that before.

There are so many triggers for migraine in the modern world (stress, anyone?) that you can pretty spin around and point at something, and there's your problem...

And no, migraine is not a "headache", it's actually closer to a stroke. And yes, guys get them too. And yes, if you gave me a gun when I was having one, I would self-euthanize. They are that bad.

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written by jackpine savage , January 07, 2008

Haven't we known that living life under fluorescent lights is really bad for us for a long time now? A CFL is the same light source as a tube, only its compact and self-ballasted.

I use them, but i'm still looking for information on their real carbon footprint...including the manufacturing process, mineral acquisition, and shipping from Asia. (or do externalized costs not count when defending CFL's?) And i wouldn't be surprised if we're "saving the Earth" here in America while destroying it in China. But hey, if that makes us feel better, that's all that's important. We're Americans and we're the most important people in the world.

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written by Robin , January 07, 2008

Amen jackpine savage we think we are soooo special that no one counts but us. Global warming which I agree with is cycles. When I was young we were told we were going into a ice age and that 1/3 of the US would be covered in ice and they wanted to put black objects on the polar capes since they were getting too big. We need to help the rest of the world ge to where we are than we can keep things as clean as we can then the rest is up to the big guy(GOD)!

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written by Davedude , January 18, 2008

This is also one of the many anti environmental rumors being spread by Rush Limbaugh on a daily basis. If we could capture the gas coming out of that wind bag we could solve our energy problems.

Director
written by Frank Christiani , June 06, 2008

I believe we've got the solution for Eco-friendly outdoor and indoor low voltage lighting!!! LED's biggest drawback is the heat!!! this pre-ages the diode, we at Redbird incase the diode in epoxy, That seals it from water, buggs, dirt and any thing that could harm the diode! Please come take a look!!!

Personal Experience
written by Lisa , July 20, 2008

Unfortunately I am one who does get migraines from CFLs and flourescents of any kind. I get them from other things as well; however, EVERY time I spend more than 10-1 minutes near a cfl I will get a migraine.

I agree that studies need to be done, and this should not make it so that we do not use cfls, as I realize they do save electricity etc. People should use them whenever, and where ever they can. I use them in my laundry room, as I am not in there long enough to be triggered. What I have a problem with is the idea that we will ONLY be able to purchase cfls in the future. I already do all of my shopping online because going to stores the Flourescents trigger me every time. I just need to be able to read a book at home and/or work in my office without suffering in bed for 2 days.