Sore eye when consuming alcohol

Thank you for sharing this. I just got through with antibiotics a few weeks ago and wake up with a puffy right eye accompanied with a rash on cheek after drinking only about two onces of vodka to help with getting to sleep... so I tried about 4 ounces of red wine the next night instead but still woke up with puffy eye. I have been taking probiotics ever since finishing antibiotics. Maybe I should try a dif probiotic but the one I have is a liquid with billions of probiotics so I dont understand why it wouldn't be working. I haven't drank in over 10 years before this, but because of problems with insomnia I figured I would give a little alcohol a try. It worked wonders getting me a restful night of sleep but am frustrated because of the swollen eye. I guess I will try some other alcohol and see if I can find one that I don't have a problem with. probably try organic vodka and whiskey next.

same thing...

from 6 months to now, when i drink too much, in the other day my right eye starts to swelling, sometimes the left too. dont know what to doo, neither if theres a specific kind of drink that is the guilty, happened with beer, ron, whisky... will see the an alergist this week and i come back to tell you. cheers

Nice to know I'm not alone with this problem. I am a 43 yr old male and have been having one eye or the other swell up after drinking alcohol. It happens more frequently in the right eye, however sometimes in the left too. This has been happening to me for about 2 yrs now. Doesn't happen all the time, maybe every 10 times or so that I have a drink, although it seems to be getting more frequent as time goes on. Sometimes I can notice when I am going to have a reaction right away ... before I even have a full beer. Sometimes the reaction is not noticeable until the next day. Other times I can be at a party and drink all evening and have no reaction at all,  The swelling usually goes down within about 2 days.

I was down south to an "all inclusive" resort for a week last month and had a reaction on the 2nd day there, I continued to drink different drinks for the rest of the week, by about the 5th day the eye swelling went away and everything was fine for the remainder of the trip even though I continued to drink different drinks, rum, red wine and beer every day I was there.

I have had the reaction with beer, red wine and rum. I have not had a reaction with Vodka although I haven't consumed it very often either. Traditional Vodka is made from  potatos and not grains, so I am going to start experimenting with it, I have read that you have to be careful however as some Vodka's these days are made with grain and not potato ... so I plan on doing some homework on that before experimenting.

Glad to have stumbled on this thread although I haven't found any answers or cures other than abstaining from alcohol.

I talked to my doctor about it. He says that it is not likely the alcohol itself as that would be extremely rare. He says it is probably some ingredient or something in the process. I will keep searching and bookmark this thread.

I'm really glad to find this post as well.  My right eye gets extremely sore the morning after drinking or lack of adequate sleep, especially if I have a cold/flu, or have fallen asleep drunk.  It's always my right eye, the upper portion underneath the lid, and it feels like a sharp scratch.   Almost like my eye has dried out.   I went to an eye doctor and they said I must have gotten a scratch that wasn't healing properly.   It only happens the morning after a night of bad sleep, usually involving alcohol.   It's always the same spot, and it can go away for 3 or 4 months, only to come back again.    It's very strange, and all they recommended was eyedrops.   It seems to be a fairly consistent phenomenon, so I am wondering what the true root of the problem may be.

 

 

There is a possibility that your eye can be getting irritated from simply rubbing it to much as you sleep. If you consume alcohol the night before, your not getting the same sleep as if you didn't have a few drinks. Your mind is still active as you sleep,

The sore eye after drinking first occurred with me after  too much alcohol at a wedding. it was like pressure  behind the eye and was really scary. I had to lie down with an eye pad .  

This has again occurred about 4/5  times since after consuming alcohol.....  but not necessarily a lot ....so it was hard to pinpoint. 

Like an earlier post I wear contacts   but dont think there is any connection. 

 

My son is a doctor and could give no explanation for it ....  I now feel it would only occur after drinking  wine as opposed to spirits. 

 

 

This is the 43 yr old male again from above. I have tried Iceberg Vodka since my last post a few times (it is hard to find a vodka advertised as having been made from potatoes and not grains and I'm not positive if this is or not, most advertise being made from grains). It also seems to be causing a reaction. Not every time though. I was at a party on Sat evening and had a few drinks of vodka. I was OK until today ( monday ), my left eyelid has swollen some this evening, a full 2 days since I had anything to drink.  The weekend before it was the same thing ... a few drinks on Sat evening and 2 days later some slight swelling, but in the right eyelid that time.

My doctor told me to try taking some allergy medication if I know I am going to be at a function where I'll be having some drinks. I do take allergy meds regularly for about a month every year about this time of year anyway and I still had the reaction, so that doesn't seem to have helped. Benadryll does seem to have some positive results in reducing ( but not eliminating ) the reaction when taken after it begins.

I'm still looking for solutions, I'll keep posting and checking here if I find anything.

Hi I've been getting the same symtoms with my left eye for the past 5week or so myself but mine seems to water and weep a real lot to for an hour or so, Do you know if you can puchase the eye drops that you were perscribed by your gp in the chemist/over the counter etc? Many thanks.

I'm 18 and being a teenager I like to go on a binge every weekend, but this post hungover irritated eye is really putting me off now. Seems to happen every time now and have no idea how this could happen since I've been drinking for years and just got this symptom last week. When I drink, I drink to get drunk with my mates, I don't see the point in having just 1 or 2 drinks... but now I don't know what to do. Someone please give me a solid answer or someone please post a result. Cheers! (Oh no wait..) Thanks!:-)

This has been happening to me for about a year on and off. I never really thought about it but decided to search today and found this thread. After reading through all the posts, I'm fairly convinced that it's an allergic reaction. I'm going to take an allergy pill and see what happens. It's day 2 since I was drunk so it could be a coincidence that it goes down but we'll see...

I am 45 and have, over the past month, experienced dry eyelids and swollen eyes, now going worse and developing into rashes on the face and swollen lips after drinking alcohol.  I have a history of suffering allergies but never to alcohol.  After researching I have discovered that this is a definite allergy, urticaria and hives resulting. I came across this info on the Clarityn website which I wholly related to "Raised itchy lumps or weals seen on the body or limbs are classical signs of urticaria. They usually last for several hours, and can last up to 24 hours. There can also be swelling of the eyes or lips*.  I am going to try taking clarityn (loratadine) as should provide some relief.  I will post again to let you know how it goes. 

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Hey there,

Sometime I drink beer and an acute pain in the back of my right eye appears after 10-30min I start drinking, It happens with beer and Sider, my eye closes a bit and I start to cry. I stop drinking since with the fear of that pain, it's pretty intense. I deal with it with a painkiller, lights off and sleeping.

It's funny cause most people here say it's the day before, I never felt it the day before is just about the time the drink starts to be digested. I was thought it has something to do with my sinusititis but now I'm not sure...

Does anyone knows what this is? Or why does this happen?

i have the same problem thats what brought me to this sight,  i have have had this happen a few times over the last four years feels like i stuck my finger in my eye after a night of heavy drinking

I can give some rationale for why this may occur; please understand that this does not substitute for advice by your own doc/ophtho/neurologist/maybe optometrist. Some or none of these may be applicable to you.

All of these more-or-less play into an "eye strain" hypothesis.

 

1) Acuity

Alcohol decreases your visual acuity, so your eye cannot focus on things as well and your eye may stain to accommodate (focus) in this circumstance; AKA eye strain, this is very common, esp. in the context of someone with decreased visual acuity in the first place.

2) Depth perception 

Depth perception; alcohol affects the muscles that control eye movements, making it increasingly difficult for both eyes to focus on the same object. This causes problems with depth perception -- the ability to judge distance and depth. 

3) Peripheral Vision

Peripheral vision is that portion of sight which lies outside the normal central gaze. Alcohol adversely affects levels of peripheral vision, causing tunnel vision. This means that it is increasingly difficult to see objects to the side of the normal field of vision.

4) Resistence to Glare

Alcohol hampers the reaction times of pupils as light levels change suddenly. This means the eyes are unable to adapt quickly enough to compensate for differing light levels and so impairing visual clarity.

These are some simple ideas that are probably why you all are having this issue. There are some more ominous things, but those would be chronic issues that are not "off and on" with alcohol use. 

Hope this helps!

This is very helpful, thank you!