How Alcohol Affects Your Eyes
You are probably aware that alcohol has various short and long term negative effects in the body. However, not everyone may know how exactly does this substance affect the eyes. Too much alcohol can definitely alter the vision for the short term, but what about prolonged exposure to the substance? Will there be long-term or permanent negative effects with the functioning of the eyes? If you are interested to find out, here are some of the effects that alcohol does to your eyes.
Common Effects of Alcohol to Your Eyes
Drinking alcoholic beverages from time to time will not cause severe damage to your eyes. Some of the temporary effects of drinking, include blurry vision and double vision. The severity of these effects would of course depend on how much alcohol you have consumed and also your alcohol tolerance.
If you drink alcohol more often or you are a heavy drinker, you have a greater risk of experiencing short-term negative changes with your eyesight.
Negative Effects Associated with Heavy Drinking
Heavy drinking can cause damage to your brain, impair its functioning ability, and also negatively affect your eyes. People who drink heavily can get blurry or double vision permanently because alcohol can weaken the eye muscles.
Additionally, drinking too much can also decrease your peripheral vision and cause tunnel vision. Because the pupils react more slowly, it can be difficult for those who are experiencing this condition to drive.
Another negative effect on the eyes that is associated with heavy drinking is the person’s inability to see color contrasts. Aside from that, consuming too much alcohol can cause optic neuropathy, which is a serious progressive eye problem. This condition can cause impaired peripheral vision, difficulty seeing colors, and complete loss of vision.
You are probably aware that drinking too much may cause migraine, which is accompanied by visual problems and increased sensitivity to light. Also, it is possible for heavy drinkers to experience some kind of paralysis of the eyes because of the lack of important vitamins and nutrients in the eyes.
Although there is no concrete scientific proof yet, it is believed that drinking too much can decrease the level of antioxidants in the body. With this, people who are heavy drinkers have a higher risk of acquiring eye diseases later on in life.
Final Thoughts
With all the negative effects on your eyes that can be caused by alcohol, you should certainly reconsider your drinking habits. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you should completely stay away from alcohol. Perhaps, you should only consume alcohol minimally and occasionally so you wouldn’t run the risk of damaging your eyesight.
You should always practice good drinking habits, such as:
Pacing yourself
Never consuming alcohol with an empty stomach
Drinking water in between alcoholic beverages
Only consuming one glass, shot, can, or bottle of alcoholic drinks per hour
Aside from those mentioned, you should also be aware of your limit and always stick to it. By doing these things, you do not only save yourself from poor eyesight, but also from other negative effects that alcohol can bring to your body.
Thank you for reading “How Alcohol Affects Your Eyes”.