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This puts alcohol in roughly the same category as blood pressure medication, office air, Las Vegas and hairspray: We know they're bad for dry eye, but depending on your personal definition of quality of life, you may not really care.
Financial disclosures appended to studies like this crack me up. What possible conflict of interest could they have in this case? detox center? Seagram stock?
Oral alcohol administration disturbs tear film and ocular surface.
PURPOSE:
To investigate whether ethanol administration disturbs the tear film and ocular surface.
DESIGN:
Case-control study.
PARTICIPANTS:
Twenty healthy male subjects were recruited. Ethanol was administered to 10 subjects and another 10 subjects served as controls.
METHODS:
Twenty healthy male subjects with no ocular disease were recruited. Ethanol (0.75 g/kg) was administered orally at 8 pm for 2 hours to 10 subjects.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
The tear film and ocular surface were evaluated at 6 pm before drinking, at midnight, and immediately (6 am) and 2 hours (8 am) after waking the next morning. Tear osmolarity, ethanol concentration in tears and serum, Schirmer's test results, tear film break-up time (TBUT), corneal punctuate erosion, and corneal sensitivity were measured.
RESULTS:
Ethanol was detected in tears and serum at midnight, but it was not detected the next morning. The mean tear osmolarity level increased in the alcohol group at midnight compared with that in the control group (P<0.001). The alcohol group showed a significantly shorter TBUT compared with the control group after drinking alcohol (P<0.001 at 12 am, P<0.001 at 6 am, and P = 0.002 at 8 am). There were significantly higher fluorescein staining scores in the alcohol group compared with those in the control group at 6 am and 8 am (P = 0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). No significant change was shown in corneal sensitivity or Schirmer's test results in either group.
CONCLUSIONS:
Orally administered ethanol was secreted into the tears. Ethanol in tears induced tear hyperosmolarity and shortened TBUT and triggered the development of ocular surface diseases. Similar changes could exacerbate signs and symptoms in patients with ocular surface disease.
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S):
The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
To investigate whether ethanol administration disturbs the tear film and ocular surface.
DESIGN:
Case-control study.
PARTICIPANTS:
Twenty healthy male subjects were recruited. Ethanol was administered to 10 subjects and another 10 subjects served as controls.
METHODS:
Twenty healthy male subjects with no ocular disease were recruited. Ethanol (0.75 g/kg) was administered orally at 8 pm for 2 hours to 10 subjects.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
The tear film and ocular surface were evaluated at 6 pm before drinking, at midnight, and immediately (6 am) and 2 hours (8 am) after waking the next morning. Tear osmolarity, ethanol concentration in tears and serum, Schirmer's test results, tear film break-up time (TBUT), corneal punctuate erosion, and corneal sensitivity were measured.
RESULTS:
Ethanol was detected in tears and serum at midnight, but it was not detected the next morning. The mean tear osmolarity level increased in the alcohol group at midnight compared with that in the control group (P<0.001). The alcohol group showed a significantly shorter TBUT compared with the control group after drinking alcohol (P<0.001 at 12 am, P<0.001 at 6 am, and P = 0.002 at 8 am). There were significantly higher fluorescein staining scores in the alcohol group compared with those in the control group at 6 am and 8 am (P = 0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). No significant change was shown in corneal sensitivity or Schirmer's test results in either group.
CONCLUSIONS:
Orally administered ethanol was secreted into the tears. Ethanol in tears induced tear hyperosmolarity and shortened TBUT and triggered the development of ocular surface diseases. Similar changes could exacerbate signs and symptoms in patients with ocular surface disease.
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S):
The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Kim JH, Kim JH, Nam WH, Yi K, Choi DG, Hyon JY, Wee WR, Shin YJ.
Department of Ophthalmology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
I had thought the negative effect of alcohol on dry eye was due to chronic consumption. It is interesting that alcohol shows up in the tears. It makes me wonder what else shows up in the tears. Given that alcohol is a sugar, it makes me wonder if it is the sugar component of the alcohol that is contributing to the corneal staining and shortened TBUT.
Interesting that the research has a Korean connection. A poster on d'eyealogues stated that in Korea, the Lasik doctors tell patients not to consume any alcohol for four weeks following lasik surgery. Looks like this study might be confirming some suspicions about alcohol and its effect on the ocular surface.