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If you drink alcohol, avoiding smoking can help reduce the overall impact on your eyes. The more you drink, the higher your risk is for developing any of these conditions. Alcohol directly affects the extraocular muscles that Sober living home control eye movement.
It’s estimated that, globally, 3 million people died in 2016 as a result of drinking too much. This figure includes deaths occurring directly as a result of high alcohol consumption, and also includes secondary causes such as deaths from drink driving or alcohol-related accidents. Further to this, the Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention estimate that alcohol is responsible for 10% of deaths among working age adults. These visual signs are sometimes early indicators of deeper problems like liver disease, neurological damage, or nutrient deficiencies that are common in individuals who abuse alcohol. While it may seem like a cosmetic issue, alcoholic eyes often point to underlying health issues that require both medical treatment and a structured approach to addiction recovery. This vision problem can lead to lots and lots of headaches, especially during the sobering-up stage.
What Does Alcohol Do to Your Eyes? Affects You Should Know
This expansion, especially in the conjunctiva (the clear tissue over the white part of the eyes), makes blood vessels more visible, causing red or bloodshot eyes. If someone is suspected of having nystagmus, they will likely undergo a CT scan or an MRI to get a scan of the brain. Often, these rapid eye movements are due to neurological problems in the brain. This neurological condition is another way alcohol can cause eye problems.
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Your overall responses can slow down while you are under the influence of alcohol. This means that it can take a little longer than usual for your brain to recognize what you are seeing, and it can take longer than usual for you to decide what to do about it. Drinking alcohol may decrease the sensitivity of your peripheral vision.
How to Protect Your Eyes When Drinking
When your brain slows down, your eyes will become uncoordinated – resulting in double vision or difficulty visually tracking moving objects. These effects can make it very unsafe to operate a vehicle or machinery. Vitamin A deficiency in particular can cause low vision at night and cornea damage that eventually lead to blindness.
Examples of eye symptoms to check with a doctor
Particularly if you slept poorly or didn’t hydrate enough, it could also dehydrate your eyes and cause them to feel tired. Alcohol consumption impacts every function in the body, including vision. Keep reading to learn more about how alcohol and eyesight are related and how to avoid complications from alcoholic eyes.
Regular alcohol use can cause permanent double or blurred vision while also impairing a person’s ability to perceive colors and light. Alcohol is a common trigger for migraine headaches as well as ocular migraines. An ocular migraine is an episode of vision loss in one eye, often accompanied by a headache. Whether you consume just a couple of drinks or involve yourself in heavy drinking, alcohol can affect your vision and eye health. A lot of people consume alcohol for the sake of having a good time and enjoying themselves. Occasionally drinking moderate amounts of alcohol doesn’t usually cause any health problems.
- Higher alcohol intake can lead to optic neuropathy, an ocular condition where the optic nerve is damaged, leading to vision loss or scotoma.
- Please note that there are no guarantees that every medical treatment or surgery will satisfactorily cure or repair every condition, for every person, every single time.
- At CT Addiction Medicine, we provide evidence-based treatment options, medical detox and counseling to help you if you’re able to overcome alcohol abuse and misuse.
- Alcohol also reduces peripheral vision, sometimes called “tunnel vision.” Pupil reaction to light slows, affecting adaptation to changing light and color differentiation.
- When methanol is processed by the body, it becomes formic acid and formaldehyde.
- Research has shown that alcohol consumption can temporarily affect colour vision, making it more difficult to distinguish between certain hues.
How Drinking Alcohol Can Affect Eyesight
Starting treatment for alcohol abuse and stopping drinking will defend your eyesight. Optic neuropathy is a condition that damages the optic nerve, which carries visual information from the eye to the brain. Chronic alcohol use — especially when paired with nutritional deficiencies like low Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) — can lead to a form of this condition called alcohol-related optic neuropathy. Symptoms include gradual vision loss, difficulty seeing colors, and the development of blind spots.
Sensitivity to light is probably the most well-known side effect of a hangover. This vision problem can also affect inebriated people; however, they may have had too much to drink to remember. However, if your double vision doesn’t go away once you have sobered up, it may indicate a more serious issue in the eye. Call your doctor if your double vision persists longer than it should. No reliable sourcing indicates how many people experience vision issues due to alcohol. By Lindsay CurtisCurtis is a writer with over 20 years of experience focused on mental health, sexual health, cancer care, and spinal health.
How to Help Alcoholic Eyes
Though these aren’t eye diseases, the first signs of these conditions are often seen in the eyes as part of a comprehensive eye exam. Signs of heart disease include optic neuropathy, atrophy, bleeding in the retina from vascular occlusions, and even hypertensive retinopathy. Liver issues can be detected by the whites of your eyes taking on a yellowish hue, which indicates problems with the liver.
How Alcohol Impacts Your Eyes and Vision
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that men limit alcohol consumption to two drinks per day and women to one drink per day. In this article, we’ll explore how alcohol consumption affects dry eyes, the symptoms to watch out for, and ways to protect your eye health if you choose to drink. One of the most common immediate visual impairments is blurred vision, occurring as alcohol relaxes the eye muscles, making it difficult for the eyes to focus properly.
- Drinking excessively can cause a myriad of vision issues, from temporary blurred or double vision all the way to permanent blindness.
- Alcohol can cause your pupils to dilate more slowly in response to light changes.
- Reducing alcohol intake, staying hydrated, and using eye lubricants can significantly alleviate symptoms for most people.
Cataracts are relatively more common in heavy drinkers than in moderate or non-drinkers. Alcohol affects the coordination of eye muscles, often leading to a condition called alcohol-induced nystagmus. The weakened muscles cause involuntary eye movements, which can result in difficulty focusing and may lead to double or blurry vision, as well as difficulty with depth perception. In addition to these immediate effects, chronic dehydration from regular heavy drinking can lead to longer-term eye health problems. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain adequate hydration, especially when consuming alcohol. Alcohol, in both short-term and long-term consumption, can indeed affect your vision.
The Reframe app equips you with the knowledge and skills you need to not only survive drinking less, but to thrive while you navigate the journey. Our daily research-backed readings teach you the neuroscience of alcohol, and our in-app Toolkit provides the resources and activities you need to navigate each challenge. Drink plenty of water, use lubricating eye drops, get enough rest, apply cool compresses, and wear sunglasses to protect from harsh light. WALK YOUR TALK with Sober Fashionistas Kate Vitala, Harley Skorpenske, and Alexandra Nyman. This section celebrates fashion and the role it plays in our recovery.