All of us have certain vices but if you wear contact lenses, you may want to skip the smoke break and the usual glass of wine.

Effect Of Drinking And Smoking On People Wearing Contact Lenses

What smoking can mean for your eyes?

1. Increased risk of developing early cataracts
2. Age-related macular degeneration
3. Dry, irritated eyes

The third point has almost immediate effects for contact lens wearers. Dry eyes can cause severe irritation which makes it impossible to wear contact lenses.

Cataracts and vision loss are far graver effects which can be curbed by quitting smoking altogether.

What smoking does to your lenses?

When you smoke, your natural tears cannot keep up with the smoke since the contacts cover the eyes. Apart from dry, itchy and red eyes, smokers may also find that they have developed corneal ulcerations which can lead to blindness.

Even if you are not smoking, being around smokers can also cause problems. Especially if you wear soft contact lenses. They soak up smoke and create all sorts of problems.

This is true even if you wear non-prescription colored Bella contact lenses. Lenses are medical devices and have to be taken care of in the right way.

Remove yourself from situations where you around smokers as passive smoking can both harm your eyes and lungs.

How drinking affects contact lens wearers?

If you are a lens wearer, you may have experienced that it is incredibly hard to stay awake if you’ve been up all night drinking. Wearing your contact lenses for extended periods can make your eyes feel very dry but the alcohol has a major part to play in it too.

Alcohol causes dehydration. When you become dehydrated, so will your eyes. It’s not that consuming large amounts of alcohol will do this to you. Even a small amount of alcohol can exacerbate the problem in people who have dry eyes.

If your contact lenses dry out, they may even get stuck to your eyes which is really difficult to get out without re-wetting drops or soft forceps.

And this is a real problem. Even for people who only after aesthetics. If you wear the Bella Sandy Brown, be sure to remove them when you go out for a night of drinking if they are non-prescription.

How to tell if you’re getting dehydrated while drinking –

1. Your mouth feels dry and sticky
2. You feel sleepy or tired
3. You are extremely thirsty
4. Your head is aching
5. You start feeling light-headed or dizzy

How to strike a balance

Just because you wear contacts does not mean you cannot go out to parties. Here is how you can make sure you have a good time without ruining your vision.

1. Use contact safe rewetting drops if you feel your eyes are starting to get dry
2. Drink a lot of water before you start drinking. This will help you prevent dehydration.
3. Keep consuming water while drinking
4. Make sure your lenses are not expired. Expired lenses and dehydration can be a recipe for disaster.
5. Ask your friends around you to not blow smoke in your face. Avoid it entirely if possible.