{"id":10212,"date":"2016-07-19T11:43:13","date_gmt":"2016-07-19T09:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/en\/?p=10212"},"modified":"2020-12-23T10:41:11","modified_gmt":"2020-12-23T09:41:11","slug":"smoke-and-vision-what-are-the-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/en\/en-news\/smoke-and-vision-what-are-the-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoke and Vision: What are the Risks?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Many studies have shown that cigarette smoking damages our health, but<strong> sight-threatening vision and eye problems caused by smoking are less well-known<\/strong>. Dr Federico Badal\u00e0, ophtalmologist in charge of the Ocular Microsurgery Center of Milan and Catania, has recently carried out a study which emphasizes the following risks for our eye health:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Smoking and Cataracts<a href=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.6-cataratta.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10088\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-10088\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.6-cataratta.jpg\" alt=\"N.6 cataratta\" width=\"204\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.6-cataratta.jpg 338w, https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.6-cataratta-300x220.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cataracts (clouding of the eye&#8217;s natural lens) are a leading cause of blindness in the world. \u201cSmokers \u2013 explains Dr Badal\u00e0 &#8211; significantly increase their risk of developing a cataract compared withnon-smokers. In fact, studies show that people who smoke <strong>double their chance of forming cataracts<\/strong>, and the risk continues to increase the more you smoke\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.2-maculopatia.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10089\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10089 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.2-maculopatia-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"N.2 maculopatia\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.2-maculopatia-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.2-maculopatia-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>Smoking and Macular Degeneration<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Age-related macular degeneration affects the center of the retina, which is responsible for sharp, central vision needed for everyday tasks such as reading and driving.<\/p>\n<p>Macular degeneration causes &#8220;blind spots&#8221; and often severely impairs central vision. Consequently. AMD is the leading cause of permanent vision loss among people age 65 and older.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut &#8211; continues Dr Badal\u00e0 &#8211; smoking is the biggest controllable risk factor associated with AMD, so quitting smoking at any age, even later in life, can reduce your risk of developing AMD\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Smoking and Uveitis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Uveitis (inflammation of the eye&#8217;s middle layer, or uvea) is a serious eye disease that can result in complete vision loss.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.3-uveite.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10090\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-10090 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.3-uveite-300x133.jpg\" alt=\"N.3 uveite\" width=\"300\" height=\"133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.3-uveite-300x133.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.3-uveite-768x341.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.3-uveite.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It harms vital structures of the eye, including the iris and retina, and can lead to complications such as cataract, glaucoma and retinal detachment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvidence shows smokers are more likely than non-smokers to have uveitis, and smoking appears linked to the development of uveitis\u201d \u2013 affirms Dr Badal\u00e0. One study found that smoking was associated with the <strong>doubling of<\/strong> <strong>the risk<\/strong> of having the condition.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.7-retinopatia.png\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10091\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-10091 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.7-retinopatia.png\" alt=\"N.7 retinopatia\" width=\"219\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.7-retinopatia.png 533w, https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.7-retinopatia-300x241.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 219px) 100vw, 219px\" \/><\/a>Smoking and Diabetic Retinopathy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Diabetic retinopathy damages the blood vessels of the retina and can result in vision loss.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere also is a causal relationship between smoking and both the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy, in addition to numerous other diabetes complications. Moreover, smoking may as much as <strong>double the risk of developing diabetes\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Smoking and Dry Eyes<a href=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.4-Occhiosecco.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10092\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-10092\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.4-Occhiosecco.jpg\" alt=\"N.4 Occhiosecco\" width=\"235\" height=\"120\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.4-Occhiosecco.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.4-Occhiosecco-300x153.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dry eye syndrome describes insufficient tears on the eye&#8217;s surface, which are needed to keep the eye lubricated and healthy. Sufferers of dry eye can experience eye redness, itchiness, a &#8220;foreign body&#8221; sensation and even watery eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTobacco smoke is a known eye irritant and worsens dry eye \u2014 even among second-hand smokers \u2014 particularly for contact lens wearers. People who smoke are nearly <strong>twice as likely to have dry eyes<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 continues Dr Badal\u00e0.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Smoking and Infant Eye Disease<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWomen who smoke during pregnancy transmit dangerous toxins to the placenta, potentially harming the unborn child. Smoking while pregnant increases the chance of many fetal and infant eye disorders, among other serious health problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These include strabismus (crossed eyes), the retinopathy of prematurity and the underdevelopment of the optic nerve, which is a <strong>leading cause of blindness in children<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to give birth prematurely; all babies born prematurely are at greater risk of eye problems than full-term babies.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Are You Ready To Quit?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s never too late to quit smoking and enjoy the benefits of a healthier lifestyle and, ultimately, a healthier body\u201d \u2013 concludes Dr Badal\u00e0. \u201cQuitting smoking at any age can reduce your risk of developing many sight-threatening eye conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you smoke and you are suffering from these diseases (cataract, maculopathy, uveitis, diabetic retinopathy or dry eye), we advise you to have regular eye examinations and to contact the anti smoking centers of your city; a great help to kick the habit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Many studies have shown that cigarette smoking damages our health, but sight-threatening vision and eye problems caused by smoking are less well-known. Dr Federico Badal\u00e0, ophtalmologist in charge of the Ocular Microsurgery Center of Milan and Catania, has recently carried out a study which emphasizes the following risks for our eye health: &nbsp; Smoking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[93,460,462,421,461,95,458,459,463],"class_list":["post-10212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-en-news","tag-cataract","tag-diabetic-retinopathy","tag-dry-eye","tag-eyes","tag-health","tag-maculopathy","tag-smoking","tag-smoking-and-pregnancy","tag-uveitis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Smoke and Vision: What are the Risks?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/en\/en-news\/smoke-and-vision-what-are-the-risks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smoke and Vision: What are the Risks?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; Many studies have shown that cigarette smoking damages our health, but sight-threatening vision and eye problems caused by smoking are less well-known. Dr Federico Badal\u00e0, ophtalmologist in charge of the Ocular Microsurgery Center of Milan and Catania, has recently carried out a study which emphasizes the following risks for our eye health: &nbsp; Smoking [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/en\/en-news\/smoke-and-vision-what-are-the-risks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VistaClinic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/vistaclinicitaly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-19T09:43:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-23T09:41:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/N.1-Copia.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"377\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"322\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"translator\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Smoke and Vision: What are the Risks?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.microchirurgiaoculare.com\/en\/en-news\/smoke-and-vision-what-are-the-risks\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Smoke and Vision: What are the Risks?","og_description":"&nbsp; Many studies have shown that cigarette smoking damages our health, but sight-threatening vision and eye problems caused by smoking are less well-known. 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