Revealed — how alcohol worsens night vision in drivers

Know why drunk drivers see halos as they zoom past city lights, leading to traffic accidents? It's because alcohol disturbs the tear-film that covers the surface of their eyes, leading to deterioratio

By: Editorial Team | | Updated: October 7, 2014 5:35 pm

Know why drunk drivers see halos as they zoom past city lights, leading to traffic accidents? It’s because alcohol disturbs the tear-film that covers the surface of their eyes, leading to deterioration of vision. Alcohol consumption markedly impairs night-vision because it increases the perception of halos (luminous circles) and other visual night-time disturbances, a new study shows. ‘This is because ethanol from alcoholic drinks passes into the tear and disturbs the outermost layer of the tear-film – the lipid layer – facilitating the evaporation of the aqueous part of the tear,’ said principal author of the study Jose Juan Castro from University of Granada, Spain. Also Read - Covid-19 pandemic making people with anxiety and depression to drink more

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In an eye with a deteriorated tear-film, the quality of the image that forms in the retina also deteriorates. Moreover, this deterioration of vision is significantly greater in subjects with breath alcohol content in excess of 0.25mg/litre – the legal limit for driving recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). To reach this conclusion, researchers evaluated retina-image quality and night-vision performance following alcohol consumption in 67 participants. (Read: 5 reasons why you should stay away from alcohol when you’re trying to lose weight! (Gallery)) Also Read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 4 reasons an eco-friendly Ganesha is good for you

To assess visual performance in low-illumination conditions, the researchers used a visual test known as a ‘halometer’. The results, published in the Journal of Ophthalmology, showed that following alcohol consumption, the perception of halos and other night-time visual disturbances increased. Researchers also found that the optical quality of the image the eye produces deteriorated. ‘Alcohol consumption and low-illumination conditions are factors present in many traffic accidents, hence people must to be made aware of the effects of alcohol consumption, especially on vision,’ Castro said. (Read: Alcohol abuse what you need to know)

What does alcohol do to your liver?

When you drink alcohol made primarily of ethanol your liver works overtime to convert the ethanol into acetic acid. This is then converted into a less toxic form called acetate, which is eventually removed from the body as urine.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Well, all this converting and watering down of large amounts of toxins, divertes the liver from its primary functions like providing glucose. Glucose is extremely important for your brain to function. The lack glucose or hypoglycaemia is one of the main reasons you suffer from a hangover, feel lethargic, have lowered cognitive functions and suffer from nausea, vomiting, headaches and fatigue. Mind you these are the short term effects. (Read: What alcohol does to your liver)

With inputs from IANS

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Published : June 19, 2014 3:12 pm | Updated:October 7, 2014 5:35 pm

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