Evidence supports the association between chronic alcohol use and the increased risk of developing cataracts, which is when there’s a cloudy area in the eye lens that impairs someone’s vision. Chronic alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a disease that affects the retina and causes frequent loss of central vision. While AMD is more common in elderly individuals, someone with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) is more susceptible to early AMD. However, for people with pre-existing eye conditions like glaucoma, the temporary rise in IOP may be more significant and potentially exacerbate their condition. If you have glaucoma or any other eye diseases that affect eye pressure, please consult with an eye care professional about alcohol’s potential impact on your eye health.
Heavy drinking and binge drinking are not necessarily considered alcoholism, but most certainly can be. Alcoholism is the dependence on alcohol—the feeling to, desire of, or craving of alcohol consumption. Treatments can vary based on how alcohol has affected a person’s eyes and optic nerve.
What to know about the effects of alcohol on the eyes
Even small changes can help reduce a person’s risk of developing issues with their eyes or other aspects of health. Your overall visual performance may be altered since drinking heavily impairs brain function. Your vision relies on a few different functions that your brain and eyes carry out, and alcohol impairs more than one of these functions.
Yes, stopping alcohol consumption can improve your vision over time, especially if your blurred vision is directly caused by alcohol’s effects. Alcohol dehydrates the eyes and disrupts normal blood flow to the retina, leading to temporary visual disturbances. By reducing or eliminating alcohol intake, your body can recover, and your eyes may regain normal hydration and function.
- It can cause them to turn red because consuming alcohol causes the vessels in your eyes to swell and fill with blood – hence the term bloodshot.
- Apart from weakening the eye muscles, alcohol also affects the transmission of signals between the eyes and the brain.
- It may also damage or speed up the aging of various structures inside the eye, such as the lens, retina, and optic nerve.
- Alcohol often causes pupils to dilate (increase pupil size), making it harder to adjust to light changes.
- It is a common trigger for people who have migraines, and alcohol can also trigger a headache for some people who don’t otherwise have migraines or headaches.
- It is hard to predict whether you will develop effects that harm your liver, heart, nerves, or eyes, and you can experience a combination of these.
The eyes make quick corrections in an attempt to re-fixate on a target. Nystagmus is usually horizontal but can also be vertical or circular in motion. A nystagmus is when the eyes move uncontrollably and quickly (jerkily) in one direction. If someone has a nystagmus, it will look like their eyes are almost beating repeatedly to the right or left instead of staying stable in one position. If the officer asks an intoxicated individual to follow a light as it is moved around, odds are he or she will not be able to do so as the muscles are in a weakened state.
Visual changes
Toxic optic neuropathy is a condition where alcohol damages the optic nerve. The optic nerve is especially susceptible to damage from Methanol (a type of alcohol, which is used for paints, glue and disinfection). The concentration of Methanol may be more in homemade brewed alcoholic beverages. Since the optic nerve transmits visual information to the brain, intoxication leads to deteriorating vision. The optic atrophy may include irreversible blind spots (visual field loss) and poor color perception. Complete and permanent loss of eyesight can also be called tobacco-alcohol amblyopia, or toxic amblyopia.
You may think that a wild lifestyle that includes excessive drinking only affects the brain and liver, but it affects every part of the body for the worse. Next time you go out drinking or have a get-together, set a limit for yourself so as to not go overboard. It can lead to eye pain, eye floaters, loss of vision in one or both eyes and loss of color perception. It doesn’t happen often, but when alcohol is involved, you’re at a higher risk. Long-term excessive drinking can permanently damage your eyesight and can even lead to blindness in some cases.
How Does Alcohol Affect Your Vision?
Alcohol tends to affect the speed at which your iris constricts and dilates. A driver that has been drinking alcohol cannot adapt as quickly to oncoming headlights. With an impaired vestibular system, the brain struggles to coordinate eye movements properly when the head is in motion. Your eyes are no longer able to fixate on a target steadily, which can cause doubling or crossing of vision. However, dehydration from excessive consumption might why does alcohol cause double vision exacerbate the perception of floater and make the vitreous more noticeable. Dry eyes can also be treated using over-the-counter (OTC) eye drops, also known as artificial tears.
For example, many eye care products can treat dry eyes and reduce redness.To avoid the more severe health consequences, have your eyes checked annually, whether you drink heavily or not. Besides vision loss, regular alcohol consumption affects your mental health, your liver, and other organs. Bloodshot eyes, dryness, or blurred and double vision are common side effects of drinking alcohol. However, there are long-term effects on eyesight from excessive alcohol consumption, potentially leading to permanent vision impairments, dry eyes, and optic neuropathy.
Long-term heavy drinking can cause interference between the brain and the eyes. It may also damage or speed up the aging of various structures inside the eye, such as the lens, retina, and optic nerve. Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), is a progressive eye condition. Understanding the potential risks of alcohol consumption concerning AMD is fundamental for promoting eye health and making better lifestyle choices. Studies suggest alcohol in excess can trigger inflammation, deplete essential nutrients, and lead to adverse health effects.
Effects on Visual Perception
Alcoholism has been connected to a variety of conditions that lead to blindness, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and optic neuropathy. Optic neuropathy secondary to chronic alcohol consumption is thought to be due to nutritional depletion of thiamine (vitamin B1). Over time vision loss can extend to include central vision, and even result in complete blindness. Treatments will vary greatly based on a person’s symptoms or health conditions that develop as a result of alcohol use. A person should talk with a doctor about treatment options that will work for them.
- Your vision relies on a few different functions that your brain and eyes carry out, and alcohol impairs more than one of these functions.
- You might develop a painless loss of vision, decreased peripheral vision, or reduced color vision.
- Excessive alcohol consumption can negatively affect the eyes, leading to rapid eye movement, double vision, and potential blindness.
- In fact, we experience rapid eye movements at night during our REM cycle of sleep.
At Florida Eye Specialists and Cataract Institute, we are proud to deliver personal service that has ensured the satisfaction of our patients. It is important to determine the cause of any vision changes; your eye doctor can treat them or send you to a specialist for further diagnosis or treatment. Some Problems From Heavy DrinkingDouble and distorted vision can occur from information that is slowed down between the eye and the brain. Decreasing the reaction time for the pupils to dilate, alcohol can impair the ability to see different color shades or adjust to lighting differences. Rapid eye movements or involuntary eye movements are often called nystagmus and can affect one or both eyes. These involuntary eye movements can cause your eyes to jump in every which way.
Effects on Pupil Size
Overall, the brain is unable to integrate and make sense of the information it is receiving from the eyes. Many people notice their eyes start to involuntarily flutter back and forth when they’re intoxicated. Korean researchers have found traces of alcohol in patient tears which decreased the quality of the tears. A compromised tear film may result in dry or irritable eyes and impact upon vision. Loss of contrast – Alcoholic drinks decrease the reactions of the pupils, meaning that they cannot constrict or dilate correctly according to the levels of light surrounding them. This affects the ability of the eye to detect contrasts between different colours and shades, important in activities such as driving or playing sports.
This article reviews how alcohol can affect vision, the possible short- and long-term effects, treatments, and more. This distortion of visual input makes it even harder for the already impaired eye muscles and balance system to coordinate. The eyes struggle to stay aligned and focused through alcohol-induced visual confusion.
In contrast, heavy drinking can exacerbate this effect, making it difficult to see clearly. Individuals with diabetes who also engage in regular alcohol consumption are at an increased risk of developing diabetic retinopathy (DR). Over time, frequent alcohol abuse can lead to permanent visual impairments, including cloudy vision, double vision, light sensitivities, and reduced color perception.