Visual Impairment?

[ADe1976]

When I started e-smoking a got an immediate visual impairment... Don't panic, read on...

I noticed, pretty much straight away after smoking my first e-cig that lights seemed very much brighter (especially at night) and text became noticeably more blurry. I researched this and discovered this visual anomaly has a name and is called halos.

The scary bit ... Suddenly seeing halos is often a symptom of glycoma (eye disease) and so I contacted my doctor immediately.

I was advised to get an immediate eye test which I immediately did. I was told my vision was fine but glasses would improve my situation (and that they had never heard of e-cigs and were very interested).

The guy doing the test did notice something odd however and so I got to have another test by a glycoma expert in 5 weeks time.

During that time I was on and off the e-cigs as as you can imagine I didn't want to go blind but also didn't want to smoke again.

When I saw the specialist it was confirmed that 5 weeks later my eye sight was as it was in the first test... Phewwww!!!!

Despite continuing to smoke e-cigs there was no deteriation in vision.

Want to know what happened? I bet you do!

Apparently, I had a pre-existing condition that means I see far less clearly when my eye's are dilated and smoking the e-cig dilates my eyes. I was shown this by the Optician demonstrating I could see much more clearly when looking through a tiny hole in a bit of cardboard at the screen than without it.

It appears that my eye's resting dilation is now wider than it was before and so this is why I now see less clearly than before.

I hope this helps people who may be searching this forum in the future and worried like I was. For your information, I've not taken the prescription offered as it won't harm not to (I was told) and now I know what's happened I'm not concerned and am happy to live with this.

I have not smoked a single analogue (real cig) for 2 months now and don't want to a single bit so will hopefully be around to answer any questions to this post for many years to come.

 

[Hellen A. Handbasket]

Great post! I have noticed that I see less clearly as well. Just figure it was a coincidence. I noticed that my reading vision has deteriorated in the last year that I've used e-cigs and I can't read very small print up close. I've always had light halos though.

So, if I'm understanding it... ciggy smoking masked the condition and kept the eye in a more normal range and without it, it dialates wide??

Congrats on your 2 months.

 

[ADe1976]

Great post! I have noticed that I see less clearly as well. Just figure it was a coincidence. I noticed that my reading vision has deteriorated in the last year that I've used e-cigs and I can't read very small print up close. I've always had light halos though.

So, if I'm understanding it... ciggy smoking masked the condition and kept the eye in a more normal range and without it, it dialates wide??

Congrats on your 2 months.

Not that ciggy smoking masked it but that e-cigs set your "standard" dialation wider and your brain don't likes it! If you have no issues seeing with large/larger dialation you wouldn't notice a thing (I was told).

My eyes are a bit ....e it seems but still great if you ask me .

P.S. I like things being more sparkly ;D (now I know I'm good to go)!

 

[Lioness]

That's very interesting as I've experienced a difference in my sight, too. More the reading blurriness than anything else (always had light halos as well so that isn't different).

Thanks so much for posting! Now I have an explanation for it.

 

[sanfordf]

I also noticed the change in my vision after I started vaping. I have always had excellent vision and was slightly alarmed at first, but I now wear mild reading glasses for fine print.

 

[ADe1976]

I also noticed the change in my vision after I started vaping. I have always had excellent vision and was slightly alarmed at first, but I now wear mild reading glasses for fine print.

It scared the pants off of me.

Slightly suprised to see even 3 people say they had the same as when I searched on this I got nothing. This thread is tagged

I guess we are the guinee pigs with e-cigs but as far as this sight thing is conserned we have nothing to worry about in terms of degradation but might make you better off with glasses?!?

I have another eye test in 2 weeks (just to be sure) so will update this thread with the results.

 

[Lioness]

I only very recently began to think it had anything to do with vaping and was thinking it might be connected to the percentage of VG in the eliquid I use as it seems like I only really noticed it when I used liquid that was 50% or more VG. But I've only just started paying attention to what I've been vaping when it's worse so I could be quite wrong.

Please keep us updated with your test results!

 

[ADe1976]

I only very recently began to think it had anything to do with vaping and was thinking it might be connected to the percentage of VG in the eliquid I use as it seems like I only really noticed it when I used liquid that was 50% or more VG. But I've only just started paying attention to what I've been vaping when it's worse so I could be quite wrong.

Please keep us updated with your test results!

For your info, this happened when I smoked/vaped PG and mistrusted that (thinking it maybe the cause) and now I only smoke VG.

There has been no difference and am probably going to go back to a mix as PG has a flavour benefit maybe (I'm told?)? I like the smoke you get from VG though *thumbs up*!

Don't worry, I'll pass on the test results either way but am not conserned.

 

[Lioness]

Aha. Okay...then I can quit trying to figure that out. Thanks! I do feel quite relieved to know not only what's causing it but that I wasn't imagining it!

I also thought that just maybe age had suddenly caught up and was messing with me. I didn't like that thought.

 

[ADe1976]

Aha. Okay...then I can quit trying to figure that out. Thanks! I do feel quite relieved to know not only what's causing it but that I wasn't imagining it!

I also thought that just maybe age had suddenly caught up and was messing with me. I didn't like that thought.

That's great!

That was the point of my post exactly... Glad to have calmed you down (I was terrified myself and noody seemed to have noticed this)... I suggest you go get your own eye test as nothing put's you at ease as an optitian saying "your eyes are fine!".

 

[Hellen A. Handbasket]

Not that ciggy smoking masked it but that e-cigs set your "standard" dialation wider and your brain don't likes it! If you have no issues seeing with large/larger dialation you wouldn't notice a thing (I was told).

My eyes are a bit ....e it seems but still great if you ask me .

P.S. I like things being more sparkly ;D (now I know I'm good to go)!

I still don't understand

What is it in the e-cigs that could possibly reset the standard dialation of the eye?

I'd think that stopping smoking and eliminating all the chemicals of tobacco smoke would be what sets the standard back.

Can you expand on what the explanation was?

 

[ADe1976]

I still don't understand

What is it in the e-cigs that could possibly reset the standard dialation of the eye?

I'd think that stopping smoking and eliminating all the chemicals of tobacco smoke would be what sets the standard back.

Can you expand on what the explanation was?

What in the e-Cig caused my eyes to have different resting dialation is completely unknown but in my opinion definitly related as the two things happened at exactly the same time!

Sorry, I can't tell you exactly what. All I know is what I was told and that was that all he could think of is that my standard/resting dialation had increased and he could demonstrate my vision was as I remembered it with various tests involving small pin holes and reading tests.

I was also told that my optic nerve appeared quite swolen (which was why the specialist got involved) but this could easily have been the case all my life I was told later so didn't think it worth mentioning here (but for completelness, there you go).

I never had an eye test before so there was nothing to go on other than what I was saying (beleive me, my vision was 20/20 before hand).

After the first test they said I "could" use a small perscription and 5 weeks later, I had a more thourough test and there was no degradation in the numbers from their side. The same perscription was still optional.

That's all I have to give you.

Look in a mirror if you've been vaping, are your pupils larger than normal? Mine are!

 

[Hellen A. Handbasket]

Ok, well since you had never had an eye test, there was nothing to base an association with pupil dialation on other than you feel that your vision had changed about the time you started vaping. I'm not able to even try to associate this with vaping since you hadn't had an eye exam and 20/20 vision (proof) a few months or even a year ago.

Also I don't know your age or how long you smoked. I was hoping that the physician had given you some kind of an educated option for this being associated by smoking or e-cig use. Sounds like a guess by you or the Dr.?

I looked in the mirror (I pretty much vape 18mg from first wake until I go to bed). No dialation for me. If anything, they were constricted (and my bathroom mirror is fairly bright, so normal. Not much change when I shut off the light.) Pretty good nic buzz going along with caffiene, so seems like my normal to me.

I'm also pretty sure I was correct in assuming in my first post that the cigarette smoking probably masked the issue of your wider pupils/swelling. This information on testing showed that the pupil constricts with cigarette smoking:

The pupil diameter changes as the eye adjusts from darkness to light. Two studies were performed to determine the effects of smoking on the pupil. Results of the two studies were contradictory. One study found that no changes occurred the in pupil diameter of tobacco smokers [9]. The other study found that the subjects who smoked one tobacco cigarette had greater pupillary constriction than those who smoked a placebo cigarette [10].

9. Effects of tobacco smoking on human ocular smooth pursuit [published erratum appears in Clin Pharmacol Ther 1997 Jun;61(6):627] Domino EF; Ni LS; Zhang H CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS. vol. 61, no. 3 (1997 Mar): 349-59.

OBJECTIVE: Test the hypothesis that nicotine-induced nystagmus results in reduced ocular smooth performance and pupil diameter in tobacco smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to the hypothesis, tobacco smokers had a very small but significant improvement in left eye pursuit but no change in pupil diameter.


10. Effects of tobacco smoking on the human pupil. Lie TC; Domino EF INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS. vol. 37, no. 4 (1999 Apr): 184-8.

OBJECTIVE: Determine the effects of tobacco cigarette or sham placebo-smoking on pupil diameter. CONCLUSIONS: Shortly after smoking one tobacco cigarette, pupillary constriction was greater than after sham-smoking.

Above is from: Effects of Smoking on Vision

So, common sense tells me that when you quit smoking, the pupil constriction caused by the chemical cocktail of smoke changed/stopped and the pupil dialated to your "new normal" which was preexisting all along due to the swelling of the optic nerve and your vision changed. E-cigs aren't dialating your eyes, they're going back to where they should have been (with the optical nerve swelling, which it is dialted).

I had my eyes checked again about 6-8 months ago (which would have been 8 months or so into vaping if I remember right). No real issues, and my up close vision was only slightly worse than my previous exam a few years ago. I rarely put on my glasses (though I should wear them to drive probably). Tiny print I need to get out readers for. Not uncommon since for most people, upclose vision changes at about age 35-45.

When we quit smoking and start vaping we become hypersensitive to our health (due to the many unknowns about vaping). We're pretty use to seeing new users posting and listing every health ailment they have after they start vaping on this forum and quicky attribute all ills to vaping.

Each time someone posts like that, it ends up being a pre-existing or general explainable illness. Most memorable was a guy who posted that he was "coughing up blood" and was convinced it was caused by vaping (and he was sure he was dying). Turned out he was continually exhaling vapor through his nose, which dried it out and the nose bleed was running down his throat so he'd cough and see blood!

It is good to keep in mind that many health issues come to light after we quit smoking which were previously masked by tobacco use (Depression and Thyroid issues are good examples). Eye issues could very well also be masked by smoking.

While there are still many unknowns, people have been using the e-cig and the liquid for 2-3 years and so far, nothing of worry has been associated with vaping. It is good for everyone to ask questions, research and pay attention. Unfortunately, physicians have some catching up to do on the use of e-cigs, quitting smoking and health issues associated with quitting.

I also found this on pupil dialation for you:
Causes Of Dilated Eye | LIVESTRONG.COM

I know my vision has changed a little, but then I don't know if it has anything to do with e-cigs/nicotine so much as age and general reduced blood flow to the arteries in the eyes from smoking for all those years. Nicotine can cause blurred vision. It is a warning on the Nicotine patch packages and we probably ignored it while smoking.

It has been proven that smoking causes macular degeneration of the eye. It also contributes to the severity and earlier onset of other eye problems that are caused from other diseases (MS, diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid) which would probably have happened anyway despite smoking. In all, yet another good reason to quit smoking.

Basically, we're still using something that was an ingredient when we smoked and may continue to cause eye issues... Nicotine.

The effects of nicotine and smoking on vision - by Josephine Polifroni - Helium

Swelling of the optic nerve is usually associated with toxins (from tobacco smoke) or other illness or disease. The Optic Nerve

I was wondering if perhaps your issues were related to something like this:

In certain circumstances of Ophthalmology, people have a condition called Bene Dilitatism, where the optic nerves are only slightly damaged. This condition is typified by widened pupils on a normal basis due to the inability for the optical nerves to register a correct amount of light. In this way, when in areas in normal lighting, people afflicted with this condition would normally have dilated pupils. However, when in an environment where it is light or bright out, such as outside with the sun, these people would feel pain at the brightness and would normally squint. This is why most people with this condition always put on sunglasses every time they travel outdoors. At the other end of the spectrum, people with this condition have trouble seeing in darkness. It is necessary for these people to be especially careful when driving at night due to their inability to see objects in their full perspective. This condition is not dangerous even though it causes those afflicted to have pain in brightness and poor vision in darkness. These people merely need to be careful in their selected activities where they would be effected by those certain circumstances.

I'd think the optic nerve swelling is something to be concerned about (but not overly). It never hurts to get a 2nd opinion.

My husband has RP (Retinitis-pigmentosa) 5 years ago and is slowly losing his eyesight (genetic and he's never smoked). So, eye issues are something I've been interested in for a while and I am concerned about preserving my own!

Something to keep an EYE on for sure though. I'm looking forward to your update and hope you'll discuss all this with your Dr.

 

[5cardstud]

I finally got over my eye infection but I lost some vision with it. Not from ecigs. I'm going to see a transplant Dr. soon. This is good information and a good thread.

 

[ADe1976]

I have my next eye test tomorrow at 15:40 BST and will let you know if anything has changed... I expect nothing but will let you know to complete this thread.

I'll see if I can get the image of my optic nerve (for a laugh) as I know they have it on the computer. How do I ask for that lol?

I personally don't care for an argument here, I'm just relaying an experience for the purpose of comforting others who may be conserned and stumble across this thread.

P.S. I don't think I could go back to real cigs now. I'm a little bit scared actually!

 

[ADe1976]

...and the results are in.

There is no change so continuing to smoke my e-cig for 2 months solid has in no way affected my vision (even if it may have been responsible for the change in the first place).

 

[Java_Az]

I woke up yesterday morning and my right eye has blurry vision. Not really the first time this has happened but never been this bad. Could be cause i am getting old. Anyways i should say this has happened before i started vaping too just to be clear. Was a bit of crud in my eye and it is all itchy too. I believe it is just a case of conjunctivitis. Whipped up some Chamomile tea and rinsed my eyes out with that seems to be getting better. Will see how it goes next couple days i would hate to have to get glasses i already look enough like a nerd without them.

 

[Uma]

My eyes are a blurry mess off and on now too... but not because of the e-cig. It's because of the constant computer use researching ecig info and when I'm not on my pc, I'm reading the forums from my tiny cell phone. After turning the backlight down to lowest notch, all is well again. I hope yours is similiar solution.

 

[lmrasch]

Another factor to eyecare when vaping is dehydration. I notice that I get dehydrated easier since I've been vaping and mild dehydration can cause dry eyes which can lead one to believe their eyesight is getting worse. Word to the wise, drink more water when you vape.