If you’ve drank alcohol before, you might’ve noticed some temporary changes in your vision (like blurry or double vision). While some of the short term effects may seem obvious, if abused regularly, alcohol can actually damage your eyes in the long term as well.
You May Notice These Issues While Drinking Alcohol
Increased Sensitivity to Light
In the short term, alcohol can have significant effects on your pupil reaction. This can create light sensitivity, especially at night time. This is part of the reason drinking and driving is especially dangerous in the evening.
Red and Dry Eyes
If you’ve ever suffered from dry eyes, you know it can be rather irritating. In the short term alcohol can have a drying effect on the eyes. If you already have allergies or other eye sensitivities, this symptom may be elevated.
Slower Reaction Speed
Alcohol not only affects our hand-eye coordination, it can also affect our pupil reaction speed. As a result you might not see (and be able to react) to an oncoming threat while operating a motor vehicle.
Some Long Term Issues You May Experience
- Increased Cataract Formation resulting in blurry vision
- Age related macular degeneration at an expedited rate
- Vitamin deficiency which may result in faster vision decline
- Prenatal alcohol exposure which can damage fetus’ eyesight
Along with eye problems, long term excessive alcohol exposure can wreak havoc on your body in number of other ways including causing cardiovascular issues, neurological problems, sleep disturbances, digestive issues and much more – for these reasons it’s important to consume alcohol in moderation.
If you are concerned that your eyes may be suffering from some of the long term effects of alcohol exposure, please contact an optometrist today for a check up. To schedule an appointment at Innovations in EyeCare at our optometry clinic in Centralia, call us now at (360) 736-7385