Vape and the Eyes
Doctors’ warning about confusing eliquid with eye drops raises the subject of vaping and eye health.
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by Dave Cross
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“Vaping has really saved my eyesight,” wrote Mrs Dash, in response to Delhi-based Centre for Sight’s Mahipal Sachdev calling for smokers to quit (to combat age-related macular degeneration). “I was diagnosed with Graves Disease last year, and now I am enjoying a 3 month [so far] remission.”
She continued: “As a further note, doctor also congratulated me on lowering my nicotine levels so far in the last year too!! [Heart complications from Graves is impacted by nicotine]. So, my doctor is happy that I vape!”
It came at the same time as Doctor Nigel Best, from Specsavers, was warning: “Although e-cigarette research is still in the early stages and the long-term effects are yet to be established, there are early indications that some types can cause irritation in the form of dry eye.”
It is widely held that chemical components in cigarette smoke are responsible for damage to blood vessels in the eye, principally to the macula (the part responsible for fine detail). “Age-related macular degeneration affects around 600,000 people in the UK alone and smokers are more likely to suffer from this eye condition than non-smokers,” added Best.
The conversation has risen due to a recent letter to the JAMA Ophthalmology journal from Aaron Jamison and David Lockington. The pair work at the Tennent Institute of Ophthalmology at Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow. They wrote the letter to detail the potential for eye injury resulting from eliquid-related chemical injury.
They write: “A woman in her 50s presented to our acute eye service with unilateral eye irritation.” The woman had been prescribed antibiotic eye drops for a case of conjunctivitis. Unfortunately, she chose to store her medication in the bathroom – right next to a bottle of eliquid.
Inevitably, she confused the similar bottles and placed juice directly into her eye. Luckily for her, as it was in the bathroom she was able to instantly flush her eye in the sink. Initially, it caused pain, redness and blurring of vision resulting from the increased acidity of the eyeball. The pH (a measure of acidity) had almost returned to normal by the time she arrived at the eye service thanks to flushing it with water.
The authors state that a search of literature revealed this was the first time such an incident had been recorded, although similar accidents involving nail glue and Olbas oil had. They suggest eliquid manufacturers should begin to place advice to ‘irrigate and seek immediate medical attention’ on their bottles. Maybe a note about storing juice in bathroom cabinets might help too?
Photo Credit:
Images
Eye – creative commons
Drops – Optrex
Doll – Pixabay.com
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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