How alcohol can affect your eyesight

Drinking large amounts of alcohol can lead to bloodshot eyes. This happens because alcohol causes blood vessels to relax and expand, increasing blood flow. These swollen blood vessels can lead to red eyes and irritation.

In extreme cases, when excessive alcohol consumption has caused alcoholic hepatitis, the whites of the eyes can appear yellow. The liver disease leads to jaundice when the liver can no longer clear the build-up of old red blood cells from the body. The result is a yellowing of the skin and eyes.

It’s common to notice your eyes are more puffy after drinking alcohol. Alcohol causes bloating, including around the eyes. Alcohol also disrupts your natural sleep cycle, and a lack of sleep can lead to puffiness and dark circles around the eyes.

Some of the short-term effects of alcohol on your eyesight include:

• Blurry vision - it can be harder to focus on objects because alcohol interferes with your eye muscle coordination.

• Double vision - because alcohol affects the communication between the eye and brain that form the images we see.

• Difficulty adjusting to bright or dark lighting - because the pupils in your eyes react more slowly under the influence of alcohol.

• Lower contrast sensitivity - making it harder to distinguish between colours.

Heavy alcohol consumption can lead to long-term effects on your eyes, including chronic dry eyes.

It’s common to have dry eyes after drinking. Alcohol affects your eyes’ ability to lubricate themselves effectively with tears. With sustained heavy drinking, dry eyes can develop from a short-term side effect into a chronic one. Symptoms include blurred vision, discomfort and irritation, and a stinging sensation.

Cataracts happen when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, affecting your vision. Cataracts are common as we age, but heavy drinkers are significantly more likely to develop them. (Source: Optometry and Vision Science).

Nystagmus is a condition that shows as constant rapid involuntary eye movements. Alcohol affects how the brain and eyes work together, including the eye muscles and can lead to acquired nystagmus.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can lead to loss of the central vision that we rely on to see detail. Moderate or heavy alcohol consumption could increase the risk of early-onset macular degeneration (Source: Current Eye Research).

Optic neuropathy can lead to painless loss of vision. It can also affect your colour vision. Optic neuropathy is associated with chronic alcohol consumption (Source: Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports).

Long-term excessive alcohol use can have lasting effects on your eyesight and is associated with eye conditions that can cause loss of vision.

The effects of alcohol on the visual system can be damaging in sustained large amounts. Alcohol can affect the optic nerve, which sends information from the eye to the brain to form our vision. Alcohol also affects liver function, preventing the absorption of essential nutrients, including vitamin A which we need for eye health.

Alcohol acts as a diuretic which dehydrates the body, eyes included. Alcohol interferes with how the eyes lubricate themselves with tears. That’s why you can get dry eyes which feel uncomfortable and irritated after drinking.

In low to moderate amounts, alcohol can temporarily lower your eye pressure. Various research studies have looked at whether heavy drinking is related to glaucoma but have found no association or increased risk (Sources: Archives of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology, and Ophthalmic Epidemiology).

Short-term, the effects of alcohol, such as blurred and double vision, should wear off within 24 hours of stopping drinking. Long-term, responsible drinking is better for your overall well-being, including eye health.