Smoking is the scourge of our days. How often does a cigarette become a point in someone’s life? Smoking has long been recognized as one of the main causes of death, but what is most offensive is that this cause was so easy to prevent. Cigarettes have a detrimental effect on every cell of your body, including your eyes.
We all know that smoking causes cancer and many heart diseases, but not many of us are aware that the harmful habit of smoking affects vision. Let's tell you in more detail why you should give up cigarettes, and why it is important for vision:
Smoking and cataracts
Cataract is clouding of the lens of the eye. Cataracts are recognized as the leading cause of blindness worldwide. Impressive facts: By age 80, more than half of America's population will have cataracts, and many will undergo cataract surgery.
Smokers have a much higher risk of getting this eye disease. Those who don't smoke have a better chance of avoiding eye problems. According to studies, people who smoke are twice as likely to suffer from lens opacities. And the more you smoke, the more likely it is that you will not avoid cataracts.
Smoking and macular degeneration
Degenerative changes in the macula are associated with the center of the retina, which is responsible for the clarity of central vision. This type of vision is very important in our everyday life - for driving and reading.
With macular degeneration, we experience blind spots, when we look at something, central vision deteriorates greatly. Macular degeneration causes vision loss in people age 65 and older.
Smokers are again at risk, and research shows this. Their risk of contracting a dangerous disease is three times higher than those who have never put a cigarette in their mouth. Smoking is especially harmful for women; their risk of degenerative changes in the corpus luteum in old age is 5.5 times higher than for non-smokers of the same age.
There is good news - you can stop smoking at any age, even in old age, and then the risk of problems with the corpus luteum will be significantly reduced.
How does nicotine addiction form?
Nicotine is an organic alkaloid that accumulates in nightshade leaves. For plants, this is a protective reaction, since their leaves become unsuitable for food for animals. Any doses of nicotine are dangerous for humans, especially if they enter the body constantly and directly into the blood. The problem also lies in the fact that this poison quickly accumulates in the body and penetrates the brain relatively freely, breaking the blood-brain barrier. But why doesn’t the body defend itself? How is addiction formed?
The biomechanics of this process is due to the fact that nicotine is directly associated with H-cholinergic receptors and leads to excitation of the parasympathetic nervous system. Acetylcholine receptors are activated and the level of adrenaline in the blood increases. Therefore, literally from the first puff, a person feels euphoria, slight excitement and a surge of strength. Dopamine is produced, the smoker feels joy. I take the next cigarette because I want to repeat the sensation. This is how addiction develops (as in the case of drugs), and each subsequent “dose” must be larger. Because of this, sensations become dull and the body becomes “contaminated.” Constant exposure of smoke to the lungs provokes chronic intoxication.
Smoking and uveitis
Uveitis is an inflammation of the choroid of the eye. This is a dangerous disease that can lead to complete loss of vision.
The disease affects important eye structures, including the iris and retina. Due to inflammation, complications arise - cataracts, glaucoma and retinal detachment.
Once again, the data is not in favor of smokers - they are diagnosed with uveitis more often than those who follow a healthy lifestyle, in addition, smoking itself is associated with the development of uveitis. If you keep a cigarette in your mouth, the risk of getting inflammation of the vascular eye increases by 2.2 times.
The harm of smoking for a teenager
When tobacco is burned, several thousand toxic gaseous and solid substances are formed, which affect the growing body of a teenager much more strongly than an adult.
Early manifestations of the harm of smoking to a child's body are frequent infectious diseases, coughing, anemia, tooth decay, rough voice, metabolic disorders, fatigue, weakening of memory, deterioration in school performance, irritability, poor sleep.
The earlier a teenager starts smoking, the faster his nicotine addiction develops. This is facilitated by the features that accompany teenage smoking:
- Children usually smoke secretly; they are in a hurry, afraid of being caught in the act by their parents or teachers. The breaks between puffs are short, and when tobacco burns quickly, 2 times more nicotine enters the smoke than when it burns slowly.
- Children do not have the opportunity to buy high-quality filter cigarettes, which means that much more harmful substances enter their bodies.
- Lack of money leads to the fact that a teenager saves cigarettes, finishes smoking them, and sometimes even smokes cigarette butts, that is, that part of the tobacco product where the maximum amount of toxic substances is concentrated.
- Hiding the addiction from loved ones, the teenager is constantly in nervous tension. Smoking turns into chronic stress, which is aggravated by a lack of oxygen and rapid physical fatigue of a teenage smoker.
Smoking and diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy damages the blood vessels of the retina, and a dangerous complication of this disease is blindness. This disease affects more than 5 million Americans over 40 years of age and is caused by type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Data from the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention is frightening: by 2050, the number of patients will increase to 16 million.
Smoking doubles the risk of developing diabetes. Diabetes already has many complications, but smoking makes the disease worse. Because of it, diabetic retinopathy progresses.
Tobacco smoke and allergic reactions
Irritation of the mucous membrane of the eyeball occurs due to allergens present in tobacco smoke. Harmful components affect blood vessels, resulting in swelling of the eyelids and dry out mucous membranes.
Also, as a result of exposure to tobacco smoke, spasm of the blood vessels of the eyeball occurs, which leads to visual impairment.
One of the methods of getting rid of allergies is taking medications; antihistamines are most effective. The duration of therapy reaches 5-7 days; therapy should not be abused. Calcium chloride will also help get rid of pathological symptoms; it is absolutely safe for health and is sold in pharmacies.
Smoking and dry eye syndrome
Smokers are four times more likely to go blind in old age.
With dry eye syndrome, a person experiences discomfort in the eyes due to insufficient moisture on the surface of the eye. In order for the eyes to be healthy and delight us for many years, they must be sufficiently moisturized. If there is not enough hydration, the eyes become red, itchy, a feeling of “mote in the eye” appears, and at times intense tearing begins.
Tobacco smoke greatly irritates the mucous membranes of the eyes and aggravates dry eye syndrome. Moreover, even those who wear contact lenses suffer. Smokers are twice as likely to suffer from dry eyes as non-smokers.
Common diseases
Macular degeneration
The macula or macula is considered an important part of the retina of the eyeball and central vision depends on it. The photoreceptors located in it are responsible for the quality of vision during the daytime. Yellow pathologies clearly have a negative impact on visual function, resulting in decreased visual function. In severe cases, macular degeneration and tobacco amblyopia occur; in the latter case, vision is lost forever.
Cataract
As a result of medical research, a relationship has been established between the components contained in tobacco and cataracts. The disease is widespread among elderly patients. The pathology is accompanied by clouding of the lens, as a result it loses elasticity and transmits only part of the light rays. The patient's vision deteriorates, the picture appears before the eyes with blurry contours, as a result of the progression of the disease, the clouded area expands, and visual function deteriorates. Lack of timely treatment can lead to vision loss.
Conjunctivitis
Cigarette smoke is considered a strong allergen, so an allergic form of conjunctivitis often develops against its background. Allergens contribute to the proliferation of harmful microorganisms on the eyelids. The duration of the disease reaches a month, the pathology is accompanied by swelling of the eyelids, sensations of a foreign object, itching, and pain in the eyes. Smoking also leads to clogging of blood vessels and poor circulation.
Other diseases
Many people abuse smoking; smoke constantly comes into contact with the mucous membranes of the eyes, nicotine accumulates on the eyelids and retina. Smokers often suffer from increased lacrimation and swelling of the skin of the eyelids. The patient has a violation of color perception, the process occurs gradually. First, the patient ceases to perceive green and red colors, then yellow becomes blurred. With glaucoma, the course of the disease worsens, intraocular pressure increases.
Smoking and eye diseases in infants
During pregnancy, dangerous toxins that enter the body along with a cigarette enter the placenta. A mother who smokes harms her unborn baby. Smoking while pregnant increases the likelihood of developing many eye diseases in the fetus and baby, as well as other serious health problems. Children are often diagnosed with strabismus (squint) and underdevelopment of the optic nerve, which is the main cause of blindness in children.
Those who smoke risk giving birth prematurely; and premature babies very often have eye problems - retinopathy of prematurity, a disease that can lead to blindness.
Effect of nicotine
The nicotine contained in a smoked cigarette causes harm to the entire body by damaging the cardiovascular system and impairing blood circulation in the organs. The central nervous system is also affected, due to which the regulation of the activity of internal organs deteriorates. Damage to these two systems leads to thickening of the walls of blood vessels, the development of atherosclerosis, increased blood pressure, and systematic malfunctions of organs. The consequences of these violations are often irreversible.
Are you ready to quit smoking?
It's never too late to quit smoking so you can fully enjoy the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and ultimately a healthier body. Stop smoking at any age, and at the same time you will say “No” to many eye diseases.
A lot of interesting and useful information on how you can give up cigarettes can be found on the English-language website smokefree.gov, you can consult a doctor who will give recommendations on how to start a life without tobacco smoke.
Your Narcologist warns: Why can vision deteriorate in someone who quits smoking?
In heavy smokers, with a constant supply of nicotine, the body triggers defensive responses. Over the course of many years, these defense mechanisms are strengthened, and the functioning of the organ of vision is adjusted to the constant load on the blood vessels. When you stop smoking, the load on blood vessels decreases, but the body's protective reactions continue to work. All this determines decreased vision in smokers who decide to give up the bad habit. To solve any difficulties that arise, you need to contact a specialist.
Tobacco news
More and more countries are aiming for cigarette packaging to lose its appeal, with health warnings occupying a large portion of the box. In 2012, Australia legalized plain packaging for tobacco products. Such requirements soon appear in France, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The idea is simple - reduce the attractiveness of cigarettes and other tobacco products by eliminating advertising images inside and outside packages, as well as standardizing font styles, colors, shapes and materials.
The packaging will become pale and health warnings will be clearly visible on it. These are pictures illustrating vision loss, harm to the unborn child, damage to the limbs from vascular diseases and other diseases that can occur as a result of tobacco use. In addition, the packaging is designed to remove any suggestion that some products are less harmful than others.
By the way, the number of people smoking, starting from the age of 14, began to decrease slightly. The results are modest, but the effect is still observed.
What is the danger of passive smoking on vision?
Does smoking affect the vision of a person who is simply next to the smoker? The body receives a full “portion” of soot, tar, tar, nicotine, toxic substances, carcinogens and formaldehyde. There are so many harmful components that a passive smoker suffers no less than an active one. Smoking negatively affects vision:
- The danger of thermal damage to the eyes increases - the smoldering temperature of tobacco reaches 1100 degrees, and smoke - 300-400.
- Small vessels enveloping the organ of vision are affected and clogged.
With constant presence next to a smoker, a passive smoker has every chance of developing serious diseases that affect the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous systems and sensory organs.
