Smartboard triggering migraine headaches

For the last two years my daughter has been having severe migraines in school whenever the Smart boards are used.  Any one else?  Anyone have advice?  We had her eyes checked out and they are perfect.

[Eddie1994]

cricketzeke,

Smartboards utilize electromagnetic energy known as (EMF's).  I can give you a long winded Physics answer as to why this phonemena occurs, but I'll spare you the details.  Researchers have found the mineral Magnetite in human meninges surrounding the brain.  This mineral is what magnets are composed.  Electromagnetic energy is settled science but magnetite is still unknown as to why it is in humans.  I am currently researching EMF's as an initiation source for some types of migraines.  

You might ask the teacher to have your daughter be seated as far away as possible from the smartboard although this may not be far enough away.  Let us know if this is help for your daughter.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How is your daughter? Migraines can indeed be triggered by environmental causes as discussed by Eddie 1994. Avoidance of triggers is one management of migraine headaches. Talk to your daughter's teachers about this and try to observe any difference if she is seated farther away from the source. Take care and do keep us posted.

[gymdandee]

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The study, published in the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine, was based on data gathered from participants in the US Treatment of Severe Migraine Trial. Migraine sufferers who participated in a simple behavioral-management program saw a dramatic increase in their confidence in their ability to self-manage their migraines.

Participants who took part in four sessions where they learned skills for managing their headaches reported a significant increase in their belief that migraines could be influenced by their own behavior. In other words, they were able to conquer that helpless feeling that is all too familiar to those of us that suffer from migraines.

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Dr. Milne also recommends vitamin therapy for migraine-headache prevention and relief including:

vitamin B2 – up to 400 mg daily
vitamin B3 – 50 to 250 mg (time-released) daily with a meal
vitamin C – 1,000 to 3,000 mg daily
vitamin E – 200 to 800 IU daily
magnesium – 300 to 400 mg daily
essential fatty acids – 3 to 4 mg of fish oil or evening- primrose oil daily

[Eddie1994]

cricketzeke,

One further thought on seating is to understand where the components are located.  The smartboard is usually located in the front of the room, but the electrical transformers  that power the board and the computer could be located elsewhere such as the teachers desk or in the ceiling.  The computer monitor is a notorious EMF offender.  Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is a technological term coming into vogue to define electrical components such as computers and cell phones and their electromagnetic fields.  

Also, to give you an example of electromagnetic field effects, try this simple experiment on yourself.  Hold your hand palm side toward your forehead about 3 inches away from it for about twenty seconds.  You will begin to feel your own electromagnetic energy.  At our forehead, our brain is a huge energy source simply because of what it does - process neuronal electrical energy.  If you then hold your palm to your arm you will feel less energy.

[cricketzeke]

Thanks everyone for all of the research and insight! I will keep you posted as we try seating her farther away from the source.
-cricketzeke

[cricketzeke]

So far we have tried moving her around the room.  She says it is the brightness or glare from the board that hurts.  It seems the longer the duration of use, the greater the headache.  
Last night her head hurt so much from the smart board, she came home from school, went to bed for 2 hours and then got up and laid on the bathroom floor for another hour feeling nauseous.  She finally started to feel better after 2 hot baths, eating ginger root, and some arnica.  

[Eddie1994]

I feel your frustration.  My wife's world just got smaller this Christmas shopping season.  She no sooner walked into JC Penny's today and hi-tailed it right out.  Her last experience about two weeks ago at another JC Penny initiated a four day migraine episode.  Turns out they switched out the regular flood lights for Flourscent flood lights.  It was absolutely amazing the effect it had on her.  Fortunately, today I warned her abiut the Flourscent lights before she went in and knew immediately the tingling feeling along her scar line.  We then went into Macy's and Lord & Taylor which had the regular flood lights - she had no problem at all.  At Wal-Mart she can't use the self check line because the video display terminals really wack her badly.

From a science point of view (and trying to keep it simple), the brightness and glare is derived from photons (essentially light energy).  These photons are like electrons as explained within the law of physics.  Sadly, we are moving technology faster then we are identifying the consequences of using it.  

At the moment I can only suggest you have your daughter try a good pair of polarized sunglasses.  Maybe the glasses can help screen out the more harmful brightness.

Keep preservering.  It's a difficult fight to get people to understand a concept that they can't readily see, feel, or smell (although the irony is the acceptance of it intellectually!)  

[Pumpkinsue]

I started getting migraines at about age 9. I'm 64 now. I taught school for 28yrs.The school I taught out stated using smart boards. Is there anyway your daughter could put her head on the desk, cover her eyes and just listen to the discussion. Another idea would be to take migraine medicine before the teacher started using the smart boards. To this day glare from a car's windshield can trigger a migraine. In school it was glare off the floor if the door was open.

[jdmom999]

My 14-year-old son experiences similar symptoms. I came across the web site www.irlen.com last week and found some correlation from the syndrome described and my son's symptoms. The syndrome is a brain disorder that does not process visual information correctly. Headaches and migraines are a symptom. I wish I had known about this sooner. The colored glasses are the right start, but proper assessment with the correct colors are essential.

[cricketzeke]

Wow that is so interesting!  Thank you for the Irlen link!  I will look it ove and see what I can find out.  

-My daughter pretty much has migraines from the smart board from wherever she sits in the room.  Her glasses have helped somewhat, but she still comes home about once a week naseous and in pain.

[Cyn47]

My advice is to attend a School Board meeting and demand that the Smart Boards be removed from the classrooms.  While they are a fun and innovative way to do power point presentations in the classrooms, they DO NOT increase the quality of education.  That lies within each teacher!!