Get Answers on the Effects of Alcohol on Eyes and Vision Overall
Have you ever taken a sip of alcohol, and all of a sudden feel your eyes welling up? You might even feel like you’ve just finished chopping an onion or getting horrible news. It can leave you wondering, “Why do my eyes water when I drink alcohol?”
Turns out, there are several reasons drinking alcohol might trigger tear production. Dry eyes, inflammation, and dilated blood vessels all play a role in watery eyes. Many people who engage in excessive alcohol consumption also experience vision changes.
Keep reading to learn more about the adverse effects of alcohol on the eyes and when to reach out to Purpose Healing for help handling this phenomenon.
Why Does Drinking Alcohol Make Your Eyes Water?
Many people produce excess tears while drinking and it isn’t because they are crying over spilled wine. These are the reasons that bloodshot eyes and excessive tear production are so common when you drink alcohol.
Alcohol Dries Your Eyes Out
Even people who are not heavy drinkers can experience dry eyes after a few sips of alcohol. This increased tear production, burning or stinging sensations, and sensitivity to light are brought on by the dehydrating effects of alcohol.
Your body increases tear production to combat dry, puffy eyes. While you can try eye drops, these will likely provide temporary relief and not reduce the negative effects.
Alcohol Causes Inflammation
The reason alcohol causes inebriation is because it is toxic. These same toxins in alcohol affect all the organs, including your eyes, triggering inflammation. Inflammation makes your eyes red and dry, triggering the production of tears.
Alcohol Effects Tear Production
As it dehydrates you, alcohol intake also changes the composition of your tears. This means that when your eyes water, they may do it excessively because your teardrops are no longer effective at lubricating your eyes.
Alcohol Causes Blood Vessels to Dilate
Drinking alcohol causes vasodilation, meaning your vessels get wider as blood flow increases. The streaks of redness through the whites of your eyes become more apparent. They also cause irritation, increasing the risk of watery eyes.
Is Blurry Vision Common When Drinking Alcohol?
Some people experience double vision after heavy drinking or its cousin, binge drinking. This is usually temporary, caused by slowed reaction times and muscular responses. Double vision may be brought on by eye fatigue. These are usually short-term effects that don’t require medical intervention.
When this heavy drinking becomes a habit, however, it can take a toll on eye health. It advances the progress of age-related macular degeneration. While vision changes and degeneration of the macula, found at the center of the retina, are common as you age, things like your diet and alcohol consumption habits can accelerate or decelerate the process.
Macular degeneration can cause problems with central vision, loss of color vision, blurriness, and headaches.
Vitamin Deficiencies and Your Eyes Watering During Drinking
Among its other negative health risks, excessive alcohol use can cause vitamin deficiencies. It affects how well your body absorbs B vitamins and Vitamin C from the digestive tract.
Long-term alcohol abuse also affects how your body metabolizes important vitamins, including Vitamin A which plays a big role in eye health. Poor vision and night blindness are some of the earliest signs of a Vitamin A deficiency.
Other Vision Problems Caused by Excessive Alcohol Consumption
Beyond blurred vision, an increased risk of heart disease, and other health problems, chronic alcohol abuse has the risk of toxic amblyopia. This happens as your body struggles to properly absorb essential nutrients, causing severe nutritional deficiencies that have the risk of causing vision problems and even permanent vision loss.
Research also shows chronic alcohol consumption increases the risk of needing cataract surgery, optic neuritis, slowed pupillary response, decreased sensitivity to light shifts, and damaged eye muscles.
What Are Alcoholic Eyes?
If you or a loved one has engaged in excessive drinking, you may notice alcoholic eyes. This describes spider veins and blood vessels in the eyes. A yellowish hue in the whites of the eyes is also one of the common long-term effects of regular alcohol use. Experiencing frequent dry eyes, blurry vision, eye pain, and eye twitching may be early signs of a problem.
Without adjusting alcohol intake, damage can become permanent. Some people experience optic neuropathy, distorted vision, glaucoma, eye paralysis, and even blindness due to drinking and corresponding damage to the optic nerve.
Can Alcoholic Eyes Be Reversed?
There are instances where alcoholic eyes can be reversed. Even if you have engaged in higher alcohol consumption for a long time, there’s a chance of reversing damage once you stop drinking. Medical interventions like vitamin supplements or even surgery might be needed, but there’s still a chance of healing without it.
Fortunately, even one month after quitting alcohol, you will start noticing significant changes in your health. Levels of red blood cells improve and vital organs start getting the nutrients they need to heal from that better blood flow.
The liver sheds excess fat and liver disease may even start to reverse. You’ll notice improved skin and eye health from proper hydration, too!
When to Consider Getting Help for Alcohol Addiction
With a substance that is as readily available as alcohol, it’s easy to fall into the habit of excessive drinking. This is true whether you are a social drinker or someone who likes to unwind at home with a drink after a long day.
Many people struggle and you’re not alone. Almost 28.9 million people over the age of 12 met the criteria for alcohol use disorder in 2023. Without help, many of these people continue to struggle with the effects of alcohol consumption.
Unsure if you’d benefit from alcohol detox? Contact Purpose Healing for a drug and alcohol assessment. This isn’t an admission you need help – it’s an opportunity to critically reflect on whether you are at risk for or already struggling with alcoholism, binge drinking, or problem drinking.
Find Help Overcoming Alcohol Addiction That Can Affect Vision at Purpose
Frequent alcohol consumption paired with vision changes, constant eye-watering, or other symptoms can be a sign that you need help. Like other health problems associated with heavy drinking, though, it is possible to reverse this damage if you get help now.
Fortunately, it is never too late to start taking positive steps toward a better, healthier life. Purpose helps with that through a holistic, whole-body approach to wellness.
Contact us at Purpose Healing to discuss treatment confidentially today. We can talk about the next steps and how you can regain control of your life and your health.
480-579-3319