Bright days in late fall can feel harmless until they are not. In St. Louis, the sun sits low for much of November, and its light bounces off wet streets, car roofs and pale sidewalks. If you have had a knock to the head and are waiting to be looked at, it helps to notice how light reaches your eyes and how your head feels afterward.
This is a note for keeping a simple record, not a test. A log cannot measure anything or tell you what is causing a headache. What it does is give you clear, dated facts to bring to an appointment, so the person examining you has more than a general memory to work with.
What to note each time you are outside
Start with the basics. Write down the date, the approximate time you went outdoors, and how long you stayed in direct light. Note whether the sun was behind you, in front of you, or overhead. Low afternoon sun often lands straight in the eyes during a drive home, so direction matters.
Next, note what you were doing. Walking to a bus stop, raking leaves, sitting at an outdoor table, or watching a game on a bright field each place a different load on your eyes and head. Keep entries short. A line such as twenty minutes walking, sun in face, no hat is enough.
Then record what you used to block the light. Sunglasses, a brimmed hat, a hood, or shade from a building can each change how the day feels. If you wore tinted lenses, note the tint and whether they were prescription. If you took them off after a while, write down when.
Glare from water, pavement and snow
Light does not only come from above. Wet pavement, puddles, car roofs and, later in the season, snow can throw strong reflections up toward the face. Those reflections often feel stronger than the sun itself, and they can catch people off guard during a short errand.
Write down which surface was present. Wet parking lot or fresh snow near the curb tells a clinician far more than the word bright. If you were walking on one surface and then crossed to another, note both.
Shade, temperature and time indoors
Many people move from a bright outdoor space into a dim room, then back outside again. Note each change. If you walked from a sunny lot into a store, then into a car, then home, a list of those moves is more useful than a summary. Include roughly how long you spent in each place.
Track temperature in a plain way too. A warm, still afternoon feels different from a cold, windy one. You do not need a thermometer. Write warm and still or cold wind off the river and move on. November weather in the region can shift within a single day, so a short note each time helps.
What to leave out
Keep the log to what you saw, did and felt. Avoid writing guesses about what caused a change, and avoid copying symptom lists from websites into your notes. If you are unsure about something, write that you are unsure. An honest gap is more helpful than a confident guess that later turns out to be wrong.
Putting the log to use
Keep the record for a week, or for as long as your appointment timing allows. Read it once each evening and add anything you forgot. Circle any entry where you felt worse than usual, and write one line about what came just before it.
Bring the log to your visit and read it aloud if that is easier. Tell the clinician what you wrote and what you are unsure about. Leave gaps marked as gaps.
This log is an educational tool. It cannot confirm or rule out any condition, and it is not a substitute for an examination. If you are unsure whether a headache after a knock needs prompt attention, contact a licensed clinician the same day rather than waiting to see whether the log shows a pattern.