This is sometimes known as “beer goggles.” After all, impaired vision and a slowed reaction time are why drinking and driving are often a fatal combination. Specifically, and over time, alcohol use weakens the eye muscles and contributes to permanent optic nerve damage. The optic nerve is responsible for communication interactions between the brain and the eye. Excessive alcohol consumption can negatively affect the eyes, leading to rapid eye movement, double vision, and potential blindness. Your overall visual performance may be altered since drinking heavily impairs brain function.
Intoxication is responsible for short-term effects such as blurred vision. Once a person recovers from intoxication, their vision should return to normal. The effects may be short term, such as blurred or double vision, or they may be long term and potentially permanent. Your muscles might not move as effectively while you are under the influence of alcohol. When this happens, you may have blurred vision or double vision due to weakened eye-muscle coordination.
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Alcohol is a nervous system depressant that affects the functioning of organs, including the eyes. When consuming alcohol in moderation, the body can metabolize it and excrete it through the liver and kidneys. In contrast, when consumption is excessive, that often leads to a buildup of toxins causing alcohol eyesight damage and eye problems. Oftentimes even small amounts of liquor or spirits could cause puffy and bloodshot ‘alcohol eyes’.
Those who partake in excessive drinking or binge drinking may develop double vision as a short-term side effect. Now that you know what the effects of over-indulgence of alcohol and long-term excessive drinking, you will be aware of how it can affect the eye and eyesight. This is blurry vision after drinking alcohol in addition to the problems arising with other organs and the health of the whole body from excessive or long-term alcohol abuse. The best thing you can do to alleviate eye-related symptoms caused by alcohol consumption is to cut back on drinking or eliminate alcohol altogether.
Sensitivity to Light
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. This tear film, which spreads each time you blink, should stay on the eye long enough to support clear vision, provide protection, and keep the eye lubricated for the eyelids. Law enforcement officers assess several alcohol-induced changes to the eyes when performing a field sobriety test on a suspected impaired driver. Alcohol has been shown to be a trigger for severe migraine headaches in some people. It is a common trigger for people who have migraines, and alcohol can also trigger a headache for some people who don’t otherwise have migraines or headaches.
- In the long-term cases, however, alcohol is capable of doing some dramatic damage.
- This may also give you the effect or perception of having tunnel vision.
- Even small changes can help reduce a person’s risk of developing issues with their eyes or other aspects of health.
- If you have any eye problems you worry may be related to drinking, talk to your eye doctor.
- He now advocates treating different medical conditions without the use of traditional drugs.