The NIAAA defines heavy drinking as follows: Heavy drinking can lead to long-term effects on the eyes that can range in severity from rapid eye movement to vision loss and blindness. Several other health issues can also result from long-term heavy drinking. In addition, it may have a toxic effect, which can lead to the development of conditions that impair vision. It may also damage or speed up the aging of various structures inside the eye, such as the lens, retina, and optic nerve. Long-term heavy drinking can cause interference between the brain and the eyes.

early onset age-related macular degeneration, which leads to vision loss or blindness.

toxic amblyopia or nutritional optic neuropathy, which leads to vision loss but often links to both drinking and smoking.bloodshot eyes due to enlarged blood vessels.a decrease in the pupils’ ability to dilate, which affects how a person reacts to light and sees colors.delayed reaction between the eyes and brain, which can lead to double vision or distorted vision.Heavy drinking may damage the eyes over time, leading to potential long-term effects such as: seeking support from friends or family to help limit drinks.tracking and counting the number of drinks they consume.avoiding triggers for drinking too much.The amount of alcohol that will cause intoxication can vary greatly from person to person based on:Ī person may be able to prevent intoxication by: Intoxication can result from drinking too much alcohol. Once a person recovers from intoxication, their vision should return to normal. Intoxication is responsible for short-term effects such as blurred vision. Law enforcement officers assess several alcohol-induced changes to the eyes when performing a field sobriety test on a suspected impaired driver. A person can become intoxicated even with moderate drinking and may experience temporary disturbances to their vision. Short-term effects may result from intoxication, which people often describe as “being drunk.” This occurs when alcohol affects the central nervous system. Intoxication has an association with vision changes such as: However, these changes will go away once the alcohol has cleared the system. Once the person has consumed a little alcohol, the brain relaxes that control and vision problems become apparent. Learn more about the effects of chronic heavy drinking.Įven moderate alcohol consumption can cause changes in a person’s vision.įor example, many people have occult eye muscle imbalances, but the sober brain can preserve crisp, single vision. These correlations may contribute to several possible complications or effects on the eyes. increase the risk of age-related cataract.have a link to glaucoma, although there is conflicting evidence.increase the risk of central serous chorioretinopathy.have a link to central retinal vein occlusion.increase the incidence of diabetic retinopathy, although the evidence is contradictory.

accelerate age-related macular degeneration.Heavy drinking can have several effects on the eyes and cause long-term symptoms. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines drinking in moderation as limiting intake to two drinks or less per day for males and one drink or less per day for females. Moderate alcohol consumption does not cause long-term vision problems or vision loss, but it can lead to short-term conditions that will clear up quickly, including blurred vision and headaches.

Double pupil disease