There are often no notable symptoms in the early stages of alcohol-related liver disease. If you do have symptoms, they may include pain or discomfort in the upper eyes yellow after drinking right side of your abdomen, fatigue, or unexplained weight loss. The only way to know for sure is to have your healthcare provider look at your yellow eye. Once they know what’s causing the discoloration in your eye, they can make sure you get the right treatment. Hemolytic anemia is also a condition a person can get later in life (acquired). Some people will only have the condition for a short time, while others will have it for the rest of their lives.
Long-Term Impact Alcohol Has on Your Eyes
Hemolytic anemia is a blood disorder where the body breaks down red blood cells too quickly. As a result, the body does not have enough red blood cells (anemia). But if both eyes are yellow, you need to seek medical attention. In all cases, the sooner a healthcare provider helps you to identify the cause, the faster you’ll be treated. Occasionally, an eye bleed is a warning sign of a condition like diabetes, hypertension, bleeding or blood disorders, leukemia, or sickle cell disease.
These are short-term effects that can begin while you are drinking, and can last for several hours afterward. Icterus is a term that means having a yellow tint to the eyes. They carry the fluid from your liver to your gallbladder (where it’s stored) and then to the small intestine. If bile ducts are blocked by gallstones, bilirubin builds up in your blood.
- You might not see very well on your right and left sides, which can cause you to ignore objects on your sides.
- If binge drinking or heavy drinking is a cause of concern, we can help.
- If excessive alcohol consumption continues, inflammation levels can begin to increase in the liver.
- In some people, it can lead to inflammation that destroys liver cells.
- By understanding and addressing these cravings directly, we empower our clients to maintain their sobriety and mitigate the risk of relapse.
- Put simply, the body doesn’t handle the alcohol in the same way as drinkers without the mutation.
Early symptoms
Heavy drinking and excessive alcohol consumption can lead to inflammation of the liver and fatty liver disease. This can progress to alcoholic hepatitis and, ultimately, cirrhosis. When someone has alcoholic hepatitis, they may notice yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice) when they drink alcohol. Experiencing yellow eyes from drinking is a warning sign that the liver is in trouble. Yellowing of the eyes and skin is called jaundice and is a firm indicator to seek medical attention. Jaundice is caused by the liver being unable to get rid of bilirubin, a substance that is produced when old red blood cells break down.
Infants produce more bilirubin than adults, and sometimes their liver can’t remove it quickly enough. Neonatal jaundice is more common in preterm babies and those who are breastfed. It’s also a misconception that yellow eyes mean that someone overuses alcohol or is somehow unwell. Jaundice from alcoholic liver damage is only one of several possible causes. You may need a liver transplant if your liver’s been severely damaged. If there isn’t enough healthy liver tissue left, you may end up with liver failure if the liver isn’t replaced.
You might find it challenging to see small details or read fine print. This is because alcohol can affect the eye’s ability to quickly adjust focus between near and far objects, a function needed for tasks like driving. It’s another example of the impact alcohol has on your eyes that goes beyond just experiencing a temporary buzz. Have you ever noticed that objects seem fuzzy after a few drinks? Alcohol disrupts how the brain interprets visual cues, leading to blurred vision. It temporarily weakens the eye muscle coordination, making it difficult for the eyes to focus.
Can the Effects Be Reversed?
Treating the cause of your yellow eyes should clear them up. For example, if a gallstone is blocking your bile duct, you might need to take medication or get a simple surgery. If you have hepatitis, your doctor might give you drugs to fight the virus.
A symptom of these conditions is yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes. Like viral hepatitis, alcoholic hepatitis also involves impaired liver functioning due to an inflammation. Unlike the viral versions of this disease, alcoholic hepatitis results from chronic alcohol abuse. Symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis can include fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, and yellow eyes from drinking. Did you know that alcohol affects not only your liver and brain but also your eyes?
If the leak is small, a part of your eye may look discolored—maybe yellow or a little red. If the leak is big, the entire white part of your eye can look bright red. The white part of your eye (the sclera) is covered by a thin, clear tissue (conjunctiva). The conjunctiva has many tiny blood vessels that can easily burst or break. Three versions of this disease (hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C) are caused by viral infections.