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Does caffeine have any negative impact on your eye health and can you deal with it using eye drops?

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Does caffeine have any negative impact on your eye health and can you deal with it using eye drops?

Evenings get darker and the temperature begins to drop in the winters while we stay warm by drinking hot cups of coffee and cocoa. Coffee also helps us truly rise and shine in the morning and stay alert through the work day. There are plenty of different flavors that one can order in cafes if you want to indulge while getting an extra bit of stimulation. Whether you are a latte fan or prefer espresso shots to give you that extra kick to get things going, knowing the risks associated with consuming too much caffeine can help you protect your eye health and vision better. Excessive caffeine consumption can pose a number of threats to your eyes and once a condition develops treating it with an eye medications list makes things a lot more complicated. It is much better to regulate consumption according to healthier standards.

Where to draw a line with regards to caffeine consumption?

Everyday about 2 billion coffee cups are consumed across the globe. According to the NHS, the daily consumption of caffeine for one person should remain under 400 mg. This amount is normally equal to 2 energy drinks, 10 cola drink cans or 4 cups of coffee. As long as you are drinking coffee in a healthy amount or your caffeine intake is within the limit it is improbable for any eye damage to occur because of it. Another factor that should be considered is how strong your average cup of coffee is, because the proportion of caffeine can vary significantly.

The instant coffee most people make in their kitchens normally contains about 90-95mg of caffeine in a cup but a black coffee you buy from Starbucks can have up to 300mg of it in the same volume. So, people ordering Americanos from coffee shops while making multiple visits for the purpose should watch out but coffee drinkers relying on lighter homemade drinks can have more of it without incurring risks.

Are there any eye health benefits related to caffeine?

There are certain aspects of eye health that have also been found to benefit from caffeine consumption. This is because the risk for developing certain diseases, like liver conditions, dementia, specific forms of cancer and diabetes is actually reduced if you moderately consume coffee. Harvard researchers and the NHS have both conducted studies on the matter and found encouraging results. The former also found in a study that when participants increased coffee consumption by 1 cup daily the risk for type 2 diabetes was lowered by 11 percent. Since these conditions can have adverse effects on your eye health, risk minimization for them means that your eyes also stay healthier.

Coffee beans in their raw form contain an antioxidant substance called CGA or chlorogenic acid. It is associated with improving blood circulation and lowering blood pressure. It is also known to provide protection to the body from other problems like hypoxia which is marked by a lowering of oxygen levels. Hypoxia can affect the retina and thereby cause damage to the vision. CGA has also been found to reduce and prevent retinal deterioration in various tests. There are some of the positive effects that are associated with drinking coffee in healthy amounts, let us also consider some of the drawbacks if we exceed the moderate proportion.

The risks resulting from drinking too much coffee

Glaucoma is a major eye condition that is linked to excessive coffee consumption and it is a problem in which the optic nerve is gradually damaged while the eyesight worsens as a result. As pressure builds up in the eye, the rear end of the eye where the optic nerve is located also gets impacted. It often happens if the eye is not draining properly. Eye pressure also increases because of an excess of caffeinated drinks as they tend to increase the blood pressure when taken in higher proportions.

It is a serious eye condition that is one of the leading reasons for blindness in the world. In many cases, glaucoma initially damages the peripheral vision but the symptoms are few and hard to notice. Another associated problem with glaucoma is that when changes in vision become noticeable the damage to the eye is already done and recovering vision afterwards is rarely possible. According to a Harvard study people who drank 3 or more coffee cups daily were at a greater risk of developing this condition.

The risk factor increases as you continue to drink too much coffee for an extended time period but there are factors related to caffeine consumption that can impact the eyes in the short term as well. An overdose of caffeine is also possible which can result in different symptoms like eyelid twitching, nausea, dry eyes, high blood sugar, blurry vision, palpitations and hallucinations. Dry eyes are quite commonly caused by drinking coffee and keeping the eyes hydrated is also necessary to avoid infections and corneal abrasions. If you notice that your eyes feel dry you can use hydrating eye drops for short term relief but consulting a doctor is much preferable especially if the condition persists.



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