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Feeling dizzy or nausea after using iPad

Is it just me or someone else also feels dizzy or nausea after using iPad for a while?

I guess it might have to do with the scrolling effect, especially in Safari. I don't know what is the term to describe the cool effect of speeding up at the beginning and the slowing down at the end of a scrolling move, which simulates the movement of a physical object. It is ok on a smaller screen (on iPhone). But on the bigger screen (on iPad), I feel like the whole world is moving in front of me. I simply wish there is just a page up or page down button.

Am I alone?

ipad, iPhone OS 3.1.3

Posted on Apr 13, 2010 8:42 PM

Reply
248 replies

Apr 29, 2012 11:11 AM in response to Technocity

Ok, this is going the usual way boards are going. If you are here posting, first read all the post history.


This is really an old topic going back tens of years.


1. First of all, the discomfort is not unexplained. Potential sources of the discomfort are well known and coutless people have identified the problem to be something else than RF radiation.


2. I have never said that there are no RF sufferers. I may be one. I got a very slight headache from a cheap wi-fi transmitter approximately 6-7 years ago. The headache was only slight and may have been due to the almost inaudible high frequency pitch emitted by the transmitter. I changed all the devices to be wired and had it that way for several years just to be sure. I now use bluetooth and wifi without a problem as I have identified problems specific to me (related to this case).


3a. By an agenda I mean generally what drbaltar said. I have an agenda of helping people as objectively as possible. I have helped many people to identify the problem correctly related to this type of discomfort as I am myself a serious sufferer.


3b. By agenda and scaremongering I refer to the few unlucky people with a serious issue and who are so fixated with their issue that they scroll through all possible forums for help and understanding. In the mean time they participate in each of the forums convinced that all the symptoms others are describing fit his or her diagnosis. This may be trying to help, but I feel it's highly subjective and will only spark considerable clashes of viewpoints.


4. I see articles posted here refered to as scientific evidence of some sort. But they are of bad quality and cherry picked and I don't like people misusing scientific research to prove any point. There are also countless studies where there has been proved to be no linkage between RF radiation and people who claim to be sensitive to it. The reason may be that for most it is psychosomatic, or the discomfort is of different origin. I do not doubt that there are those who actually suffer from RF/EF sensitivy, but the number of those truly suffering from it are trumped by the sheer volume of people who think they have it due to misdiagnosis or due to psycosomatics (placebo effect). There are also plenty of cases that prove correlation, but the evidence is hardly conclusive due to the poor specification of subject groups.


5. Please read my earlier posts to actually know what we have been talking about:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2399586?answerId=17207183022#17207183022

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2399586?answerId=17932208022#17932208022

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2399586?answerId=17949282022#17949282022

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2399586?answerId=17949005022#17949005022

If my memory serves me correct, the thread starter has already notified that the case is closed (the problem identified). So this is not an ongoing debate as such.


6. My personal experience is that I see the display flicker, and I have connected that with my problems. This is very tangible evidence, but from what I've understood, most people do not see the flicker. With some devices the screen flickers more, with some less. The ones that flicker more cause me almost instant nausea.

I have written most of the topics here with a samsung galaxy note on 3g and on wifi alternatively, often using bluetooth keyboard much of the time - I have not had one dizzy spell or a single headache using this combination. Galaxy note is not however the least flicker phones, but it's better than most. I preferred perhaps my previous phone, ZTE Skate, for flicker. However, brand is no way to tell whether the phone/tablet/laptop is good for you as it is entirely dependend on where the screen (&backlight) has been sourced from. One of the lowest flicker laptops has been Dell, and incidentally one of the highest also a Dell.


7. Just to make it clear, this is not an attack on Apple or iPads. I think the ipad infrastructure is superior to that of android at the moment. Sadly more power efficient screens (higher quality?) also seem to flicker more, and thus are more likely to cause the discomfort. As all ipads appear to flicker, it seems you have no option but not to use your ipad if you value your health. Pixel density / resolution has nothing to do with the nausea apart from a little pixel grid irritation which would make previous gen worse, not vice versa. EF/RF is a potential source, but coincidence rate is likely to be one tenth or less in comparison to the perceived nausea from flicker.


In short, if you have never suffered before from nausea eg. when using a laptop on wireless, but you do when using and ipad, it is likely that it is due to the backlight flicker. I know that constant and aggreting RF/EF exposure makes sense, but the change in display technology is a more obvious culprit, and easy to test and solve (eg. my case).


I think this thread should be closed as now there appear to be only trollers or people who have not read the entire thread. LCD backlight and RF discomfort are well documented in other places too should you want to continue the debate.


Cheers,

Wibin

Jul 23, 2012 1:31 AM in response to Elaineyd

Elaineyd wrote:



I found recently online that LED bulbs turn on and off 120 times per second and this causes some people to become physically sick. Which is the case for me. I cannot use any technolgy that uses LED bulbs. Led backlit screens are definitley more intense than say LED lighting in a shop. I can tolerate LED lighting just a few mins longer before I'm sick and get severe headache

Well, you've found the right person to speak to: I too hate such LED bulbs and have ordered and very thoroughly tested LED bulbs that produce even light (read: no 120Hz strobing). After having switched to these great bulbs, I no longer have any problems (dizziness) related to the strobing effect.


Please see my post at https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3255224?answerId=18721249022#18721249022&ac_cid=tw123456#18721249


EDIT: in the case of the iPad 1, this isn't a problem as its backlight doesn't strobe. It's the low resolution screen that is causing the problems.

Sep 29, 2013 1:34 PM in response to Elaineyd

Hi Elaineyd, it may not be the leds that are actually causing the problem. There is an interesting discussion from people that seem to know the subject (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1677617?start=1185&tstart=0).


These people are talking about temporal dithering, which is a way for manufacturers to produce color variations on displays. From what i understand this technique causes some kind of flicker, which is not the traditional one we could detect with the pencil test. It could be the main cause for our eye strain and headaches.


Apr 14, 2010 4:51 AM in response to YuanLin

Are you playing 3D games like Doom? Could be Motion Sickness aka Doom Sickness.

From Doom's (very old) FAQ:

[19-8]: I get motion sickness when playing DOOM

===============================================
There have been a lot of discussion about this phenomenon. In short some people experience dizziness attributed to the game movement. There were many theories, most along the line of motion sickness. Some also said that the animation is too smooth so it fools your brain into believing it to be real. Others said its too jerky and it makes you vomit like being sea sick. Another popular theory is that lack of proper acceleration (like on-off high speed) attribute to the nausea. I will not go into discussion of why. Instead, I will post some steps people suggested. Remedies are not guaranteed to work. There are many, all are experimental and some will have opposite effects on different people. This, it seems, is a very individual problem.
(1) Try different display sizes. Either use different size monitors or use the screen size option to vary the display window.
(2) Try sitting closer/further from the display (don't stick your nose in it, I don't want you to get radiation sick). Try combining this with focusing/defocusing on the display or surroundings. This is to see if you are being aware that you are looking at the monitor and hopefully it may convince your brain that what you play is not really real.
(3) Try different machine speeds. If you have a turbo switch try playing with it on/off.
(4) Try different input devices. With a mouse you can control acceleration more accurately than with a joystick or the keyboard.
(5) Play on your friend's/colleague's computer. See if it is better/worse.
(6) Have breaks while you play. Play in turns. Watch others play & then play yourself.
(7) If you have sound card, try playing with/without the sound. If your sound card is stereo try playing with headphones on. Reverse the headphones so that left becomes right.

Apr 20, 2010 8:28 PM in response to YuanLin

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!

I've been getting it too. It's such a bummer cause I love the machine. The word processor is awesome, the book reader phenomenal. Such an improvement over the kindle. But the kindle doesn't make me feel like "stopping the ride". I first started feeling it pretty badly when using Numbers of all applications. Now I think I'm sorta suffering from a Pavlovian effect. Sometimes just the thought of the iPad makes me feel like I've been trying to read in long distance car ride...

I've been trying to look away more often and deepen my breathing. I'm determined to beat this thing! I just hope the engineers are able to change the settings so it doesn't happen. I think it may have to do with the new LED technology..

Apr 20, 2010 9:15 PM in response to YuanLin

I had read this post before, thinking it was odd and since I had no effects. For the first time since I've purchased my iPad, just this past weekend I too had dizziness. I had spent a full lazy day watching movies mostly in a position of laying down on my side. After moving from side to side to get comfy during the course of watching over several hours, I got up and whoa! And it persisted for quite some time. I was quite surprised. I have no idea why it happens, but it does happen. Interesting, for sure.

Apr 21, 2010 7:40 AM in response to YuanLin

If turning brightness down doesn't work try wearing a pair of dark glasses. You may be having a problen of contrast sort of like some people experiance when driving along a road at a good speed with a bunch of regularly spaced trees between you and the sun causing you to frequently go from light to shade which can cause various symptoms like you discribe: dark glasses seem to reduce this effect by cutting down the overall brightness.

Apr 21, 2010 10:13 AM in response to iCreature

I have suffered life long Vertigo. This is something that is very real and there are treatments. While some people here who are experiencing the Dizziness might not have Vertigo, I suggest talking to a Vertigo specialist about it. Try this as well:

Drink lots of water all day. At least 8 glasses.
Don't overdo the caffeine.
Stay away from any processed foods.
Don't consume any MSG. You would be surprised how much food has it.
Get plenty of sleep.

If you do the above for several days and discover that the dizzyness goes away while using the iPad, this is a good indication that you should get a consult from a specialist.

Good luck on this.

May 12, 2010 5:41 AM in response to YuanLin

... Heh I googled "Feeling sick using ipad" and did not expect to find any results... I have the same problem you have... I looove the ipad but I don't think I can keep it as I get nausea and feel a bit dizzy just using it for a few minutes. I've had problem with this before in some fps games, but I never thought I would have a problem using the ipad =/ (My iphone doesn't make me dizzy).

I guess there's not that many people with these problems =/

May 21, 2010 10:15 PM in response to YuanLin

Might just be how your sitting and/or holding your head. When I first got mine I spent a lot of time using the iPad and found that my head felt like it was going to fall off late in the afternoon. Then my wife noticed that I sat with my head bent down for long periods of time when using it. That said I then adjusted how I use it and my problem with my neck went away. Bottom line maybe those that are getting dizzy might be doing so from either the iPad visual screen effects or it might be the way they hold there head while using the iPad. Aka ergonomic Guidelines are needed from Apple.

Jun 16, 2010 8:36 AM in response to YuanLin

2 possible reasons…

First You may be getting motion sickness or in this case simulator sickness This is caused by a disagreement in your brain between what your eyes see and what your inner ear reports.
Remember the inner ear is responsible for balance. So the easy flow of the scroll is tricking your balance center into thinking that you are moving when you are not.

One theory about motion/simulator sickness posits that it occurs because the area postrema portion of the brain associates the visual/balance discrepancy with hallucination.
Your body associates seeing things that are not real with poison in the body and it wants to purge that. So you feel sick.

One way to help is to try sitting farther away from the screen so that it doesn't fill your field of vision. Also, experience often helps you get over it.
You essentially condition your sensory centers to accept the visual input as "not harmful"

white paper on simulator sickness

http://www.hitl.washington.edu/publications/r-96-3/



Second possibility…
You can also get the same feeling using an iphone or any wireless device.
There is some studies out that show that a percentage of individuals in the world are sensitive to either cell phones or wireless devices and in some cases wired devices.
The current culprit seems to be EMF (Electro Magnetic Frequency) sensitivity.

EMF's are energy waves with frequencies below 300 hertz or cycles per second. The electromagnetic fields we encounter daily come from every day things such as power lines, radar and microwave towers, television and computer screens, motors, fluorescent lights, microwave ovens, cell phones, electric blankets, house wiring and hundreds of other common electrical devices.

Some individuals show a higher sensitivity to these waves and can complain of headaches, dizziness nausea etc. While other people are not effected at all.

The World Health organization has a page that discusses the theories and studies around this phenomenon

http://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/index1.html

I have problems with cell phones and inner ear vestibular dizziness for awhile. Thank goodness for iphones included earbud/microphone which cuts down on this dramatically.

Jun 16, 2010 9:03 AM in response to ng2007

No sickness here. I probably used it 10 hours on launch day. I would like to be able to turn brightness down even farther than the limit, but I'm good.

Other's have mentioned playing games... back in the old days, when I first got my N64, I played Turok. After 15 minutes I had a headache, after 30 I wanted to puke. Needless to say, I hated first-person shooters about 7 years, until the Xbox, when I didn't experience those problems anymore.

Try not to look at the iPad in total darkness. Put on soft lighting in the room so your eyes are not just fixed on that light source, but have some ambient light to adjust to.

Bryan

Feeling dizzy or nausea after using iPad

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