Smoking may ruin your eyes! Japanese study: twice the chance of visual impairment

When it comes to smoking, most people think of the negative effects of tobacco on lung health, ranging from cancer to chronic respiratory diseases.

These hazards are mostly caused by tobacco entering the body through the mouth, but you may not realize that smoking can also cause damage to the eyes. 

Japanese research: eyes will also “smoker”

Recently, a study conducted by Gifu Pharmaceutical University in Japan found that cigarette smoke and aerosol can damage the corneal cells of the eye.

Wataru Otsu, a biomedical researcher at Gifu Pharmaceutical University in Japan, said that smokers are twice as likely to suffer from dry eye as non-smokers.

Dry eye is manifested as dry redness and itching on the surface of the eye, which can lead to serious symptoms such as impaired vision, eye infections or corneal ulcers.

Experts said that this is because tobacco contains harmful substances such as nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, etc., which can enter the blood circulation through the respiratory system, interfere with fat metabolism in the blood, accelerate blood coagulation, reduce the oxygen content in the blood, and flow through the eyes. Causes ocular vascular embolism, increased permeability and other problems. 

In addition, particles of harmful substances will scatter into the eyes along with the smoke, and flow through the fundus and corners of the eyes after infiltrating into the blood, which will affect the various structures of the eyes and cause disease.

5 major hazards of smoking to the eyes

Whether it is “first-hand smoke” or “second-hand smoke”, it will cause damage to the eyes and increase the incidence of eye diseases. In life, the most common eye diseases affected by tobacco mainly include the following:

Dry eye, conjunctivitis, keratitis

Smoking, smog, etc. are the main factors in the onset of dry eye. The meibomian ducts of the eyes secrete oil and attach to the surface of the cornea to resist external damage.

If there are particles in the air deposited in the eyes, it will change the local environment of the meibomian glands, causing sensitive reactions, even bleeding, and causing inflammation. 

In addition, harmful particles change the chemical properties of the secretions of the meibomian glands, causing secondary damage to the ocular surface and causing dry eye. Long-term dry eye can also cause problems such as conjunctivitis and keratitis. 

Diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic patients themselves are prone to retinopathy. If there is a habit of smoking at the same time, or if they are in a second-hand smoke environment for a long time, the risk of disease will be greatly increased.

Chemical substances are deposited in the blood vessel wall, causing damage to the vascular endothelium. Metabolites penetrate into the retinal tissue through the damaged endothelial cells, causing damage to the visual cells of the retina, affecting vision, and even blindness in severe cases, and irreversible. 

Cataract

Smokers are more likely to develop cataracts than others, mainly because harmful substances affect the oxygen metabolism of the lens.

According to a survey by medical experts, 20% of cataract patients are related to long-term smoking. Compared with non-smokers, people who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day are twice as likely to develop cataracts.

Age-related macular degeneration

The macula is located in the center of the retina and is the most sensitive area of vision, accounting for more than 90% of the entire visual area.

Studies have shown that smoking is an important environmental factor affecting macular degeneration, and the harmful substances in cigarettes can double the efficiency of these two susceptibility genes, thereby increasing the incidence and severity of the disease. 

Retinal artery and vein thrombosis

The arterial and venous system near the retina is the peripheral circulation of the whole body. Smoking can cause vasoconstriction and hyperplatelet cohesion, which can cause blockage of retinal blood vessels and cause retinal arterial and venous thrombosis.

In addition, when the oxygen content in the blood drops when smoking, the nerve fibers of the retina will atrophy, degenerate, and even cause optic neuropathy.

Experts remind: Although smoking causes serious damage to the eyes, it is a changeable factor. Once you quit smoking and stay away from second-hand smoke, you can stop the harm, and it is never too late, especially for middle-aged and elderly people over 50 years old and sugar friends to quit smoking as soon as possible.

These “smoke” will cause inflammation of the ocular surface

In addition to cigarette smoke, these smoke affect the eyes and easily cause inflammation of the ocular surface:

Cooking oil fume

Smoke from the burning of firecrackers and fireworks

Automobile exhaust

Severe smog particles

Experts remind: the human body has a protective mechanism, if you only touch it occasionally, don’t worry too much.

However, for people who are addicted to cigarettes and smoke for a long time, their eyes are surrounded by “toxin gas” for a long time, and serious damage may occur. They need to pay special attention to eye health to prevent eye fatigue. If there are problems, they must go to the hospital in time. 

How do old smokers protect their eyes?

Continued passive “smoking” may cause the eyes to strike prematurely. Experts put forward the following suggestions to help old smokers protect their eyes in their daily lives. 

Find eye discomfort, check in time

When you find eye discomfort, cover one eye with your hand. If the scope of sight is different from the previous one, or the color of the thing is changed, the visual acuity of the two eyes is different. It is best to go to the hospital for testing. Surgery at the time. 

Pay attention to diet and avoid high sugar and high salt

Patients with macular degeneration lack lutein, zeaxanthin and other substances. Not only need to increase the intake of blueberries and carotene, but also need to control their diet, quit smoking, and avoid the intake of high sugar, high salt and junk food.

Blink more and stay away from smoke and dust

To relieve dry eye, it is recommended to close your eyes and rest appropriately and reduce eye use. Consciously increase the number of blinks; avoid exposure to smoke and dust, quit smoking or stay away from smokers. 

Wear frame glasses, apply heat appropriately

Try to replace contact lenses with frame glasses; increase the humidity around the eyes and apply heat appropriately to promote blood circulation in the eyes. 

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