If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol use, our Pennsylvania rehab center offers resources and support to help you start your journey to recovery. Let’s take a closer look at how alcohol can affect your vision and eye health. Scientific studies have shown that heavy drinkers are likely to develop glaucoma, a group of conditions that damage the optic nerves. It causes vision loss (temporary or permanent in severe cases), eye pain, and redness.
Health Professional
There’s a reason the phrase “drinking yourself blind” floats around. Optic nerve damage is very closely linked to neurological damage sustained by the brain when partaking in heavy drinking. Because the optic nerve is made up of neurological transmitters, it can become damaged by alcohol, just like in the brain. Heavy drinkers may not notice eye damage until symptoms become severe.
Brain Tumor
Even after you stop drinking, you may still be under the effects of dehydration, and DED changes from regular alcohol use don’t typically go away the moment you stop drinking. Alcohol promotes dehydration, which increases the salt level in blood and tears. The higher the concentration of salt in your tears, the faster they’ll evaporate when you blink and distribute them across the surface of your eye.
Optic Neuritis From Multiple Sclerosis
- The term “alcoholic eyes” refers to the ways in which your eyes can be harmed by alcohol consumption.
- But you shouldn’t ignore unexplained, persistent blurry vision, or vision problems accompanied by other symptoms.
- That’s a common eye condition where the eye’s lens becomes cloudy and obscures vision.
- You might also have temporary blurriness in the mornings if you enjoyed a cocktail before bed.
Your vision relies on a few different functions that your brain and eyes carry out, and alcohol impairs more than one of these functions. These are short-term effects that can begin while you are drinking, and can last for several hours afterward. A person may reduce their risk of developing vision issues due to alcohol by limiting their alcohol consumption. Even small changes can help reduce a person’s risk of developing issues with their eyes or other aspects of health. Short-term effects may result from intoxication, which people often describe as “being drunk.” This occurs when alcohol affects the central nervous system.
Stroke
Expect slow pupil reaction time for up to 24 hours after your bout of excessive drinking. Bloodshot eyes, or red eyes, can indicate many things; allergies, infections, or lack of sleep. This happens when the blood vessels in the eye become irritated and enlarged. The disease, after long-term substance abuse, will result in vision loss.
Overview of Transient Vision Loss
Individuals may experience the typical blurred vision where objects, texts, or faces may be challenging to identify. To understand the effects of alcohol on our vision, you must first understand different blood alcohol levels. While it may not be possible to completely eliminate the effects of alcohol on your vision, there are steps you can take to minimize its impact.
- Another problem that excessive drinking leads to is migraine headaches, as the eye becomes sensitive to light; the result is pain.
- In fact, we experience rapid eye movements at night during our REM cycle of sleep.
- Sometimes, blurred vision in one eye can signify a serious condition that needs emergency treatment.
- Because your reaction time is slowed when you drink, so are your eyes.
Alcohol use is connected with various vision problems, including blurry sight, dry eyes, and even blindness. These side effects can be both temporary and long term, and they range blurry vision hangover in severity. The more you drink, the higher your risk is for developing any of these conditions.