When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Did you know that the smoke from tobacco contains about 4000 compounds, and that most of these are toxic. Some of these toxins have an immediate effect while others take a while to show an effect.

So what damage can these toxins cause in the eye? The list is long, and includes an increase in macular degeneration and cataract development. Other major consequences of smoking are the development of glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or dry-eye syndrome. The long term effect of any of these can be severe vision loss or blindness.

So what can you do about this?

The obvious answer is to stop smoking … Today! Now! We understand that this is easier said than done but it is your vision that you need to care for. Many doctors and pharmacists offer smoking cessation services to help you stop.

Try to live a healthy life with exercise, a healthy diet, and enough sleep. 

Visit your optometrist or ophthalmologist annually to make sure that your eyes are healthy. Remember that you might only become aware of eye damage when irreversible damage has already established in the eye.

If you need more information please contact on 0860 595959 or at info@retinasa.org.za or via our contact page