UrgentEmergency Guide
Light sensitivity: Red Flags & Emergency Signs
Photophobia with headache and neck stiffness constitutes the classic meningitic triad — treat as bacterial meningitis until proven otherwise.
🚨 Call 999 / 112 Immediately
- ⚠Light sensitivity with severe headache and neck stiffness — bacterial meningitis
- ⚠Light sensitivity with sudden severe headache — subarachnoid haemorrhage
- ⚠Light sensitivity with altered consciousness and fever — encephalitis
⚡ See a Doctor Today
- •Light sensitivity with painful red eye — iritis or uveitis (same-day ophthalmology)
- •Severe light sensitivity after head trauma — intracranial haemorrhage
High-Risk Combinations
When light sensitivity occurs together with any of these symptoms, urgency increases significantly:
Conditions to Rule Out Urgently
Bacterial Meningitisemergency
IV ceftriaxone + dexamethasone within 1 hour
Encephalitisemergency
MRI + LP; IV aciclovir empirically
Subarachnoid Haemorrhageemergency
CT head; LP for xanthochromia if CT negative
Condition Authority Pages
Differential diagnosis analyses:
When to Call Emergency Services
- →Light sensitivity with fever and headache
- →Light sensitivity with altered consciousness or neck stiffness