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Vaping and your eyes

We all know smoking tobacco can cause lung disease, heart disease, cancer and many other health issues. But did you know that smoking can cause harm to your eyes too?

Smoking e-cigarettes has increased in recent years due to the general perceptions about their less harmful health outcomes compared to conventional tobacco cigarettes.

Recent studies have shown that the nicotine and other chemical in e-cigarettes can affect different parts of the eye.  Reports suggest that vaping may cause inflammation and oxidative stress in the eyes, similar to smoking.

Smokers have a 30-40% increased risk in developing cataracts

Smoking can cause inflammation and oxidative stress in your eyes, damaging the lens and leading to the development of cataracts. They also decrease the blood flow to the eye, further contributing to cataracts.

Smokers are 2 times more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration and 3 times more likely to develop the advanced form of AMD.

It is thought that the toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke and vape aerosols damage the blood vessels in the retina. This leads to inflammation and degeneration of the macula.

Smokers have a two-fold increased risk of developing uveitis compared to non-smokers

Smoking can cause inflammation in the eyes, which can cause Uveitis. Uveitis is the inflammation of the middle layer of the eye, the uvea, that can cause pain, redness and vision loss.

Smoking and vaping often lead to chronic dry eye due to compromised tear quality.

Smoking can affect the production and quality of your tears, making them less effective at lubricating your eyes. When nicotine reaches your eyes, it constricts the blood vessels in your conjunctiva and cornea, reducing blood flow and tear production. Smoking can also cause redness, itching, discomfort and dry eyes.

Smokers are also more likely to develop diabetes and diabetic retinopathy and are at an increased risk of developing optic nerve damage, or optic neuropathy.

You will find NHS services to stop smoking here

Eyesight and Road Safety

Attending regular eye exams and road safety

Ensuring your prescription is up to date will help keep you safe while driving. Please no not ignore any changes to your vision, whether you find things blurry up close or at a distance, this can all affect how safe you are driving. Attending regular eye exams, is the best way to make sure your eyes are fit to drive and healthy.

As winter is approaching, and the nights are getting longer, we tend to find we are driving in the dark more often, which can make it more challenging. Dark nights, poor visibility and glare from cars & streetlights can make it more stressful. Here are some of the things that could be affecting your vision:

Difficulty seeing road signs or distant objects – Myopia (Short-sighted)

If you’re struggling to read road signs or see other things in the distance, such as pedestrians or things on the road, then you may be short-sighted (myopia).

Seeing things on the road can be more difficult in the dark, and being short-sighted can add to the danger of this. Throw in some glare from on-coming traffic and things could get really challenging.

Therefore, having your short-sighted vision checked and using the correct prescription along with anti-glare lenses can help keep you and everyone else on road safe.

Struggling to read your dashboard, map or directions on your GPS – Presbyopia

You might notice your struggling to read your phone, then it could be the directions on your car GPS, which could be a sign of presbyopia. Not being able to see directions or warning signs on your car’s dashboard or GPS map, can cause erratic or dangerous driving.

Presbyopia tends to develop in the over 40s, when your eye loses its ability to focus on things up close. Thankfully this is easily fixed, multifocal lenses & contact lenses can help you see clearly near and far.

Glare or light reflection

One of the main distractions when driving at night is glare from headlights, streetlights or reflections from wet road surfaces. Glare can cause temporary blindness and may take a few seconds to regain full vision. It can also cause affect your depth perception making it hard to judge distances, which can have an impact on your driving.

If you wear glasses, the best way to tackle this, is to have a good anti-reflective coating on your lenses, which can help reduce glare. Another option to invest in driving lenses, such as Hoya EnRoute

If you are due an eye exam, give us a call today. We can also help with recommending anti-reflective coatings and driving lenses, if it suits your lifestyle.

Being an environmentally conscious opticians is important to us. We take responsibility for our impact on our environment by offsetting our CO2 emissions from the heating, lighting, equipment and transport by planting trees. As the trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,  a process that helps the tree grow and protect the eco-system too as the carbon dioxide doesn’t enter the atmosphere.

We will continue with this throughout the year, to reduce the impact we have on our environment, making it better for us all.

We’re looking for an Optometrist to join our busy Peterhead team, which consists of 3 Optometrists, 1 Dispensing Optician, 1 Practice Manager and 3 Optical Assistants.

We’re a long-established independent practice, that has it’s team development as one of our core values, along with building long-lasting relationships with our patients and local community.

Our practice is well equipped with Heidelberg OCT, digital camera and optical fields, while all test rooms are fully equipped.  The practice management system is Optisoft.

We are truly independent, so work with a range of contact lens and lens suppliers, to ensure we are providing the latest and most advanced options to our patients. We also stock a wide range of frames for all styles and budgets.

If you’re looking for a new challenging position, check out the full vacancy ad here and send your CV to Andrew McLeod

Exercise regularly, eat an eye healthy diet, don’t smoke and protect your eyes from the sun….to live well, see well.

Check out these eye healthy recipe’s to try at home, by clicking on the titles:

Shakshuka	Prawn Jambalaya