Many people living in different parts of the world consume alcohol on a daily basis as a regular part of their life. Some people love it with their food - the wine that goes with a steak – and others grab beers as a lighthearted form of recreation with their buddies. Alcohol abuse also sometimes becomes a problem, in and of itself, and it can affect a person’s eyesight (among other organs) as well requiring treatment that may entail a complete eye medications list if problems are allowed to exacerbate.

According to a recent survey in the UK, 57 percent people consumed at least a drink in one week while 20 percent said they did not drink even a drop. Looking at drinking habits of various groups of people around the globe one can see that the variation is significant. You will find people who only have a glass of wine at the end of a tiring day at work, those who have one drink on the weekend when they are having a night out with their mates and also people who do binge drink. Excessive alcohol consumption on a regular basis is definitely alarming not just with respect to eye health but also the overall health and wellbeing. Having a drink once in a while or consuming in moderation may not be as big of a problem though.

The detrimental effects on the eyes

The impact of alcohol consumption on your eyesight can be divided into the short term and long term effects. If you only consider the short term impact it is clear that even though the effects may not be as serious one needs to be vary of them to avoid getting into a difficult situation. Blurry or double vision is one of the common effects caused by drinking and one should not be driving after consuming alcohol to ensure safety. The reason for this effect on vision is that alcohol can be a depressant which means that after consumption your coordination and reaction time is affected along with your eye muscle responses. If heavy drinking goes on for a considerable amount of time it can also lead towards a permanent wearying of the eye muscles, deterioration of the brain cells, damage to the neurotransmitters and therefore causing further problems related to vision.

Driving after alcohol consumption is an absolute no-no!

The light enters the eye through the pupil and this is managed by the contraction of the iris which in turn ensures that light enters in the right proportion so that the person is able to see. As alcohol consumption can reduce the reaction time it can also take the iris a longer time to contract or make the pupil smaller which can let in more light than is required for perfect vision. It also tends to make people clumsy physically which is an additional reason why driving under influence is so risky. Even when your blood alcohol levels are at the legal driving limit, research indicates that the capacity of the eyes to fine tune according to the changes in brightness is reduced by about thirty percent. The ability of your eyes to distinguish between different shades and colors, or the sensitivity for contrast, can also be greatly decreased by drinking alcohol in excess.

Another short term effect of drinking too much alcohol is myokymia which is the condition in which the eyelid starts twitching. The triggers for it can vary from dry eyes and caffeine to fatigue and stress. Normally it wears off after some time but a visit to the eye care provider needs to be scheduled if twitching persists because it can be an early sign of a severe condition and it is better to have it checked sooner rather than later.

Too much alcohol wreaks havoc on the human body

In 2016 about 3 million people passed away from excessive consumption of alcohol from all over the world, which speaks volumes about the devastation it can cause. The causes of these deaths included direct impact of high consumption as well as secondary ones like accidents or drunk driving incidents. The Office for National Statistics, in the UK, conducted a survey related to alcohol consumption and found that 10 percent of people consumed alcohol in the week when they were interviewed for 5 days or more. Alcohol consumption is also considered one of the major causes of death for working age adults, according to the CDC.

Most people are aware of the dangers of heavy drinking like obesity, addiction and liver problems. However, the impact on other organs, biological functions and especially the eyes tends to get ignored. If heavy drinking continues for a few years it can reduce peripheral vision and if alcohol exposure continues it can also lead towards tunnel vision by affecting the visual field. It can not only make driving unsafe but also make other routine tasks difficult and risky. Dry eye disease can also be one of the side effects of drinking and if the condition pre-exists it can also be made worse. A heavy intake of alcohol often leads towards the recovery time during which either the tears produced by the eye are not enough to hydrate, lack the right balance or continue to evaporate too fast. One can use eye drops or artificial tears during this team to ensure the eyes are hydrated but if this goes on repeatedly it can result in chronic dry eye.