7 Ways Excessive Drinking Can Cause Vision Problems

Here at Rebuild Your Vision, we talk a lot about healthy habits – especially healthy habits that will benefit your vision in the long term. So, it might seem like we’d be against consuming alcohol because of all its potential negative impacts. However, we’re all for imbibing in a cold beverage with your coworkers or loved ones at the end of a long week! We’d even venture to say that a little red wine is good for your health and your eyes. But it’s no secret that excessive drinking can cause vision problems.

Most people know about the most common risks excessive alcohol consumption poses to your health, including liver damage, anemia, cardiovascular disease, and depression. What many don’t know, though, is that heavy drinking can damage eyes.

Sure, we know that drinking affects our vision and can cause blurred or double vision, especially at night. 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. Beyond this, though, drinking alcohol can have both short-term and long-term effects on the eyes.

Can Alcohol Cause Blindness?

Drinking excessively can cause a myriad of vision issues, from temporary blurred or double vision all the way to permanent blindness. This is because alcohol impairs normal function in the short term, which is why it helps you let loose after a stressful week. In the long term, heavy drinkers may experience a range of alcohol blindness symptoms that indicate there is something more serious going on. This is because excessive alcohol use can cause vitamin deficiencies in the eyes, preventing them from functioning properly. Additionally, some researchers have reported that alcoholic ketoacidosis, a condition where excessive alcohol use causes the drinker’s blood to become too acidic, has also led to blindness. Here are seven other issues that evidence what alcohol does to your eyes.

1. Brain to Eye Communication

If you’ve ever had a strong alcoholic beverage, you know that it impacts your brain. Whether it helps you be just a little more social or it makes it difficult to walk in a straight line, it’s clear that it is impacting your cognitive function in some way. And, since the brain and eyes are so closely linked, it makes sense that drinking would impact your vision, too.

If you’ve had too much to drink, your brain will have trouble communicating with every part of your body, including your eyes. The images your eyes send to the brain won’t be interpreted correctly, or it might take a longer time to process.

This slowed communication from the eyes to the brain not only affects how we interpret images, but can also set off a myriad of other side effects and even alcohol blindness symptoms. We’ll discuss more of those symptoms now.

2. Optic Nerve Damage

Optic nerve damage is very closely linked to neurological damage sustained by the brain when participating in heavy drinking. Because the optic nerve is made up of neurological transmitters, it can become damaged by alcohol, just like in the brain. Optic nerve damage is one of the key ways alcohol consumption damages your eyes.

The optic nerve is in charge of sending impulses from the retina of the eye to the brain. A damaged optic nerve can lead to low vision and sometimes blindness. In fact, it is one of the most prominent symptoms of alcohol blindness. There’s a reason the phrase “drinking yourself blind” floats around. It isn’t just a witty remark or an old wives’ tale – it is the truth.

Optic nerve damage can be very painful. It can also lead to eye floaters, loss of vision in one or both eyes, and even the loss of color perception. It doesn’t happen often, but when alcohol is involved, you’re at a higher risk.

3. Toxic Amblyopia

Optic nerve damage brought on by alcohol will sometimes lead to a condition called toxic amblyopia. This disease is usually caused by overconsumption of menthol, one of alcohol’s byproducts. Toxic amblyopia was very common before World War II due to excessive drinking and tobacco use. Now, the disease has become rarer and is often only seen in people suffering from alcoholism.

After long-term substance abuse, toxic amblyopia will result in vision loss. The disease can take anywhere between a few days to weeks to fully develop. The main symptom of this type of alcohol blindness is blind spots in your vision that gradually get bigger. Eventually, they will lead to total blindness that cannot be reversed.

Unfortunately, there is no treatment available for the disease, only methods of coping with your new vision. Low vision aids are available for those with toxic amblyopia. These might include magnifiers and large-print books.

4. Rapid Eye Movements

Rapid eye movements are not unusual. We experience rapid eye movements at night during our REM cycle of sleep. Rapid eye movements while awake, however, are a rare and unusual occurrence.

Rapid eye movements or involuntary eye movements are often called nystagmus and can affect one or both eyes. These involuntary eye movements can cause your eyes to jump in every which way. Sometimes there’s a pattern to the movements, but they can also be totally random.

This issue can be incredibly annoying, as your eyes won’t be able to focus on one point for very long. The constant jumping around can also cause eye strain and headaches. Nystagmus may sometimes cause you to lose balance or to have trouble balancing yourself while standing for long periods.

If someone is suspected of having nystagmus, they will likely undergo a CT scan or an MRI to get a scan of the brain. Often, these rapid eye movements are due to neurological problems in the brain. This neurological condition is another way alcohol can cause eye problems.

Rapid eye movement can sometimes be fixed, or at least somewhat alleviated, with eyeglasses or contact lenses. However, as with most treatments, some patients will react better than others. For some, the treatments may, unfortunately, not work at all.

5. Double Vision

You knew this vision problem would make our list. Double vision is the most common vision problem associated with excessive drinking. Once again, this problem is caused by the diminished communication between the eyes and the brain when drinking.

Luckily, double vision is not dangerous unless you’re behind the wheel. Otherwise, it will not affect your overall eye health, because it will go away once you sober up. However, while you are under the influence, it will cause you to lose depth perception. Walking and doing other tasks will prove difficult.

However, if your double vision doesn’t go away once you have sobered up, it may indicate a more serious issue in the eye. Call your doctor if your double vision persists longer than it should.

6. Bloodshot Eyes

Bloodshot eyes, or red eyes, can indicate many things: allergies, infections, or even lack of sleep. It is also another negative symptom caused by excessive alcohol use. This happens when alcohol causes blood vessels in the eye to become irritated and enlarged.

Aside from the obvious symptom of having the whites of the eye look red, bloodshot eyes may also feel itchy, burning, and painful. They may also cause the eyelids to swell. Normally, this isn’t anything to worry about, unless the redness does not go away.

Like double vision, if your bloodshot eyes do not revert back to normal after a night of drinking, then it might indicate a more serious issue and require medical attention. If your eyes are bloodshot, avoid touching them and talk to your doctor for a proper diagnosis.

7. Sensitivity to Light

Sensitivity to light is probably the most well-known side effect of a hangover. This vision problem can also affect inebriated people; however, they may have had too much to drink to remember.

Light sensitivity is another example of what happens to your eyes when you drink alcohol and how it is related to what happens to your brain. Because your reaction time is slowed when you drink, so are your eyes. The pupils are slower to dilate and contract. So, if you go from a dark room to a light room or vice versa, you’d have a lot of trouble adjusting to the new lighting.

This vision problem can lead to headaches, especially during the sobering-up stage. And, the pupils will take a little more time to get back to normal. Expect slow pupil reaction time for up to 24 hours after your bout of excessive drinking. If this is a once-in-a-very-great-while occasion, like your brother’s wedding or your college graduation, it’s nothing to worry about, but you can see how putting your eyes through this too often could lead to some severe strain on your eye muscles.

Alcohol can be fun in moderation, but there’s no need to overdo it. You may think that a wild lifestyle that includes excessive drinking only affects the brain and liver, but it affects every part of the body for the worse. Next time you go out drinking or have a get-together, set a limit for yourself – your body and your eyes will thank you!