Your eye requires intraocular pressure, also known as IOP. This stems from aqueous humor, fluid in the front of your eye that helps your eye maintain its shape and nourish the tissues. If you have too much aqueous, this could increase your eye pressure, and this may result in gradual damage to your optic nerve, leading to vision loss, a condition known as glaucoma. Knowing if factors such as caffeine affect pressure will help you make choices to keep your eyes healthy.
Caffeine
Caffeine makes its way into your body from a number of sources. Certain medications, such as migraine and other pain relievers, may contain caffeine, and many foods also contain this ingredient. Food sources include chocolate, tea, coffee and colas. If you have a high caffeine intake, you may experience increased heart rate, anxiety or other symptoms.
Studies
There are conflicting studies regarding the effects of caffeine on eye pressure. In a 2005 study, researchers at the University of Sydney evaluated caffeine and intraocular pressure. The findings showed that people with open-angle glaucoma, the most common form of the condition, had an increase in pressure after consuming caffeine. In a report published in 2011, researchers at the Shanghai Medical School examined the available research data from a number of studies. They found that, in most instances, study participants who did not have glaucoma or a history of high IOP did not have a marked increase in pressure after caffeine intake, while people with a history of glaucoma had a significant increase.
Fluids
Another relative factor when considering caffeine is the mode of intake. The Glaucoma Research Foundation notes that consuming high quantities of fluids in a short period of time may create elevated eye pressure for a short time. As such, if you drink coffee, tea or other caffeinated beverages and have glaucoma or risk factors for the disease, you may want to drink smaller amounts of fluid throughout the day instead of drinking a large amount at one time.
Effects
A short duration of high pressure will not typically cause damage to your eye, so if you do not have a history of the disease, caffeine intake should not affect your eye health. However, people with glaucoma should use medications to reduce eye pressure and take precautions, such as minimizing caffeine intake to help maintain a low IOP. Your eye doctor will monitor your eye pressure regularly, and you should keep these appointments. If left untreated or if you have frequent spikes in eye pressure relative to your caffeine intake or other causes, you may gradually damage your eyes.
References
- National Eye Institute: Facts About Glaucoma
- Glaucoma Research Foundation: Alternative Medicine
- MedlinePlus: Caffeine in the Diet
- "Graefes Archive of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology"; The Effect of Caffeine on Intraocular Pressure: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis; M. Li, et al.; March 2011
- "Journal of Glaucoma"; Effects of Caffeine on Intraocular Pressure: The Blue Mountains Eye Study; S. Chandrasekaran, et al.; December 2005
Member Comments