Consuming too much alcohol is never healthy. In addition to heart disease, and damage to your liver, and other health problems, alcohol can affect your vision, both in the short term and long term.
Short-term effects of alcohol may include:
- Slower pupil reactions, in other words, your pupils may constrict and dilate at a slower than normal rate.
- Increased sensitivity to light.
- Headaches
- Eye Twitches
- Dry Eyes. If you already suffer from dry eye, then even a small amount of alcohol could make the situation much worse.
- “Bloodshot Eyes” due to swelling of the blood vessels in the eye.
Long-term effects of too much alcohol can include:
- Increased risk for cataracts
- Increased risk for age-related macular degeneration
- Low vision due to vitamin deficiency
Additionally, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome can affect a baby’s eyesight. So if you are pregnant, the damage caused by too much alcohol can be double.
Binge drinking and the general consumption of too much alcohol is already dangerous enough. But when considering your eyesight, the problems only get worse. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it is important to schedule an eye exam with an optometrist as soon as possible.