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Heliophobia (disambiguation)

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Heliophobia refers to light sensitivity:

  • In psychology, heliophobia is the morbid fear of sunlight
  • In medicine it can refer to:
    • Hemeralopia, day blindness, inability to see clearly in bright light
    • Photophobia, an excessive sensitivity of the eyes to sunlight. Notable causes include:
      • Keratoconus, results in extreme optic sensitivity to sunlight and bright lights
  • In biology, heliophobic plants or animals are have an aversion to sunlight. Heliophobous plants are commonly known as "shade-tolerant".

See also

  • Helium, a chemical element; other elements can be heliophilic, attracted to helium, or heliophobic, repelled by helium
  • Phototropism, growth towards or away from light, particularly in plants and fungi
  • Phytophotodermatitis, a chemical reaction which makes skin hypersensitive to ultraviolet light
  • Porphyria cutanea tarda, a disease that causes the skin to be overly sensitive to sunlight to the point of causing blisters