Smoking can be injurious for your eyes too

Smoking can be hazardous for your eyes

A lot has been said and written about the ill-effects of smoking and how this habit leads to various diseases like lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases. But the harm it causes to our eyes is no less.

We are all well verse about the fact that smoking and use of tobacco leads to heart and lung diseases, but we are completely unaware about the effect it can have on our eyes. Many eye diseases like conjunctivitis, early age cataract, glaucoma, open angle glaucoma, age related macular degeneration, dry eye syndrome and tobacco amblyopia etc are caused as a result of excessive tobacco consumption.

Consuming tobacco in any form can lead to open angle glaucoma. Primary open angle glaucoma is generally found in people aged above 40, but use of tobacco increases the possibility of its occurrence. Generally, no symptoms or signals are seen in the initial stage of this disease, and till the time it is detected, a lot of damage is already caused to the vision. Smoking also results in formation of glaucoma at an early age, caused as a result of change in the eye metabolism.

As one crosses the age of 50, age related macular degeneration becomes one of the leading factor behind vision loss. This disease can cause irreparable loss to the vision. As compared to a non smoker, an active smoker has chances of developing age related macular degeneration 5-10 years before. That’s not a all, a person who smoke has a greater probability (about 2-3 times) of developing this disease. Smoking causes adverse affect on anti-oxidant metabolism, which is necessary for a healthy eye film and the macula.

Smokers and tobacco users have higher chances of developing Tobacco Amblyopia. In this disorder, the affected person’s central vision slowly decreases in both the eyes. This also creates blurred vision and the person faces difficulty in doing regular chores, especially those which requires focus on nearby objects. Tobacco Amblyopia is found more in those people, who are involved in chain smoking or those whose diet contains either extra or very low quantities of Protein and Vitamin B complex. This disease is also found in people who consume tobacco along with alcohol.

Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy is another eye disorder caused due to smoking. This is a medical condition in which the optic nerve gets damaged due to insufficient blood supply. It is a painless condition which often causes loss of vision.

Most patients suffering from diabetes looses vision due to development of Diabetic retinopathy. If you are a smoker, than your chances of developing Diabetic retinopathy is quite high. As smoking makes managing diabetes more difficult for those who already have it. Also, smoking worsens the complications caused by diabetes.

The problem of dry eye syndrome also known as dry eyes, impact smokers more than non smokers. Even cases of conjunctivitis are found more in smokers as they suffer from burning and itchiness in the eyes.

Prevention is always better than cure. The first and foremost step to protect your eyes from developing these eye diseases is to quit smoking. Smoking is an unhealthy habit which not just affects the one who smokes but also those who surrounding the smokers. So, in order to live a healthy and disease free life, leave the habit of smoking.

Dr Rajeev Jain

Eye Surgeon

Director

Save Sight Centre