Smoking and macular degeneration (blindness)

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Most people are not aware of this fact or choose to ignore it but smoking can be very damaging to your eyes. The chemicals from cigarettes can cause inflammation of the conjunctiva, causing your eyes to be irritated, and turning red.
Studies have indicated that a correlation between smoking and a development of cataracts. Smoking is also found to be related to eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration.
Although the causes are not understood fully, most researchers believe that smoking is a preventable factor. Evidence have found that approximately a quarter of cases of the disease is also link to past or current smoking habits.
Smoking can also cause the constriction of blood vessels which related to the rising inner eye pressure or intraocular pressure can lead to glaucoma causing optic nerve damage.
Another study also showed a strong correlation between smoking and poor nutrition to optic nerve damage. The most common smoking related damage to the eye is age related macular degeneration, which is the severe permanent loss of central vision. Smoking is also associated to other diseases such as nuclear cataract and thyroid eye disease.
The chemicals from cigarettes that you smoke travels to your entire body through your bloodstream. These chemicals can damage to the macula which is the most sensitive part of your retina. There is a possibility of tiny blood vessels which can burst through the macula causing permanent damage, or may also cause the cells of macula to slowly die leading to the loss of vision and eyesight.
When this happens the damage is permanent even laser treatment cannot cure this because the macula is very sensitive part of your retina. There is a new treatment called photodynamic therapy (PDT) which may reduce the damage of vision loss, but most of the people with macular degeneration will not be able to be treated.
By not smoking, you will reduce your chances and risk of getting this disease. Bear in mind that the eye is very sensitive and once it is damaged, the damage is irreversible.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/286979

• Macular degeneration: People who smoke have four times the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration. People who have smoked in the past have three times the risk of having a more severe form of macular degeneration. Interestingly, drinking wine in moderate amounts seems to lower a person's risk of developing the disease.

https://vision.about.com/od/eyeexamin...-Your-Eyes.htm

Eye Disease and Smoking:

Smoking has long been known to cause heart disease and lung cancer; however many people don't realize that smoking can lead to vision loss. Studies show smoking increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy and Dry Eye Syndrome.

• Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
  • One way to reduce the risk of developing AMD is by NOT smoking. Smokers are three to four times more likely to develop AMD than nonsmokers. Nonsmokers living with smokers almost double their risk of developing AMD.

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One theory is the hydrogen cyanide in cigarette smoke blocks the limited oxygen that reaches the macula, and suffocates the sensitive tissue.

Cyanide in the body breaks down toxic cyanide ion issued (CN-), cyanide ions within the tissue cells can inhibit the activity of 42 enzymes such as cytochrome oxidase, peroxidase, decarboxylase, succinic dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase. Which cytochrome oxidase is most sensitive to cyanide. Cyanide ion can rapidly and oxidized cytochrome oxidase in the combination of ferric iron to prevent its reduction into ferrous iron, so that transmission electron oxidation process is interrupted, cells can not use the oxygen in the blood caused by suffocation.

https://www.health-writings.com/mecha...ide-poisoning/