Whenever the harm of smoking is mentioned, people say the lungs and blood vessels in unison. But do you know that smoking is systemic to the body. Except for the lungs and blood vessels, the liver, throat, kidneys, etc. are not spared, and the same is true for the eyes. Whether i

As long as the harm of smoking is mentioned, people are talking about the lungs and blood vessels in unison. But do you know that smoking is systemic to the body. Except for the lungs and blood vessels, the liver, throat, kidneys, etc. are not spared, and the same is true for the eyes. Whether it is self-smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke, it will cause varying degrees of damage to the eyes and induce eye diseases.

How does smoking harm the eyes?

1, induce cataract

Compared with the elderly who never smoke, smokers have a risk of cataracts several times, because the toxic and harmful substances in cigarettes can hinder the metabolism of lens oxygen .

2, dry eye

Under normal circumstances, the meibomian gland tube can secrete a large amount of oil, and the oil is distributed on the surface of the cornea to avoid external damage. When harmful substances such as nicotine or tar in cigarettes are deposited in the eyes, it will cause changes in the local environment of the meibomian gland tube, thereby inducing sensitive reactions and even leading to inflammation or bleeding. In addition, harmful substances in cigarettes can also affect the chemical properties of secretions, causing damage to the eye surface again, thereby inducing dry eye disease. Dry eye disease is a high-risk factor for many eye diseases, especially conjunctivitis and keratitis .

3, senile macular lesions

retinal central retinal macular lesions are the most sensitive part of vision. However, toxic and harmful substances in cigarettes can cause macular lesions , which can affect vision.

4, diabetes retinopathy

itself diabetes has a high risk of retinopathy. Still smoking uncontrollably or being exposed to a second-hand smoke environment for a long time can increase the risk of retinopathy. Chemicals are prone to deposit in the blood vessel walls, destroying the integrity of the vascular endothelial, causing metabolic substances to slowly penetrate into the retinal tissue, thereby affecting visual cells, reducing vision, and even irreversible blindness.

5, retinal artery or venous embolism

There are arterial systems and venous systems around the retina, which are the peripheral circulation. Smoking can promote blood vessel contraction and increase the cohesion of platelets, which can easily cause retinal blood vessels to be stenosis or blockage, resulting in retinal artery embolism or retinal venous embolism. In addition, smoking can also reduce the oxygen content in the blood, causing nerve fibers in the retina to atrophy and degeneration, which can lead to optic neuropathy in severe cases.

Warm reminder

Since you already know that smoking can hurt your eyes, it is not too late to quit smoking now, and you must stay away from second-hand smoke. For old smokers, if they have obvious discomfort in their eyes, they should go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible. You should control the time of eye use, remind yourself to blink more and look farther away to relieve eye fatigue; eat more carrots, spinach, tomatoes, pumpkin, and corn to supplement zeaxanthin and lutein to protect the macular area; apply hot compresses to your eyes before going to bed every night, which can improve blood circulation in your eyes.

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