How Alcohol Affects Your Eyes

Although light consumption of alcohol probably won't cause any health problems, drinking alcohol excessively can have harmful effects on your body, including your eyes. Heavy drinking of alcohol may cause problems with your vision and overall eye health including the following:

• Decreased visual performance: Your overall visual performance may be altered since drinking heavily impairs brain function. You may have blurred vision or double vision due to weakened eye muscle coordination. You may also experience delayed reactions while driving.
• Slow pupil reactions: Alcohol tends to affect the speed at which your iris constricts and dilates. A driver that has been drinking alcohol cannot adapt as quickly to oncoming headlights.
• Decreased peripheral vision: Drinking alcohol has also been shown to decrease the sensitivity of your peripheral vision. This may give you the effect or perception of having tunnel vision.
• Decreased contrast sensitivity: Drinking too much alcohol can alter your contrast sensitivity, or how precise you can discern between shades of gray. Driving in rain or fog will be much more dangerous.
• Optic neuropathy: Also referred to as tobacco-alcohol amblyopia, people who drink or smoke in excess can develop optic neuropathy. You might develop a painless loss of vision, decreased peripheral vision or reduced color vision. Even though studies have shown the vision loss to be a result of a nutritional deficiency, some professionals believe that the condition develops because of toxic effects of alcohol and tobacco.