What Happens To Your Eyes and Vision During Perimenopause?
While the well-known symptoms of perimenopause include hot flashes, mood swings, and irregular periods, what often goes unnoticed is its impact on eye health and vision. This topic is critical for me as I've struggled with glasses and contact lenses my entire life. I finally got Lasik surgery when I was 46, and I now realize that many of the eye and vision problems I was dealing with were a direct result of perimenopausal estrogen decline.
During perimenopause, the body undergoes a gradual decline in estrogen and progesterone levels, leading to various physical and psychological changes. These hormonal fluctuations can affect nearly every system in the body, including the eyes. I like to think of estrogen as the oil and our body as the machine. The oil keeps all our body functions running smoothly. Perimenopause symptoms are the result of declining estrogen in various areas of our bodies.
Estrogen is essential for eye health, so it's no surprise that we see numerous eye conditions and vision changes as it declines. Estrogen influences the production and quality of tears, the thickness of the cornea, and the health of the retina.
Lower levels of estrogen can lead to the following eye-related issues
Dry Eyes: The decrease in estrogen levels can lead to changes in the tear ducts and reduce the production of tears.
Issues with Contact Lenses: Dry eyes can make wearing contact lenses difficult. Lower estrogen levels can change the cornea's shape and thickness, making it more difficult for contact lenses to fit correctly. This leads to discomfort, blurred vision, and an increased risk of corneal abrasions or infections.
Itchy or Sore Eyes: Decreased estrogen can contribute to various ocular surface changes, such as increased itchiness and soreness. Eyes can become more sensitive to environmental factors like wind, smoke, and dust. That estrogen decline can also increase inflammation on the surface of the eye, leading to itchiness or soreness.
Watery Eyes: Low estrogen can affect the glands that produce tears, sometimes leading to a heightened response to compensate for low tear levels by overproducing.
Sensitivity to Light: Eye dryness can make the eyes more susceptible to irritation from bright lights.
Eye Floaters: These are tiny specks or cobweb-like strands that float around in your field of vision. These tiny pieces of debris are floating in the vitreous humor, a gel-like substance that fills the back of the eye. They are usually harmless and a common part of aging. Perimenopausal hormone changes can increase the occurrence of eye floaters.
Blurred Vision: Because estrogen helps maintain the thickness and curvature of the cornea, the decline in estrogen levels can lead to changes in the cornea's shape and thickness, affecting its refractive properties and resulting in blurry vision.
Difficulty Seeing in Low Light: The decrease in estrogen levels affects the eyes' overall health, including the retina, which is responsible for low-light vision. This can also manifest as needing to turn up the brightness on tech devices and needing extra light to read.
Flashing Lights or Blind Spots: The retina is the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye and is crucial for visual perception. Lower estrogen levels can lead to changes in blood flow to the retina, causing temporary visual disturbances. Declining collagen production affects the vitreous humor, the jelly-like substance that fills the eye. As the vitreous pulls away from the retina, flashing lights or floaters can form.
Blepharitis: This is an inflammation of the eyelids, usually in the area where the eyelashes grow. Red, swollen eyelids, a gritty sensation in the eyes, and dandruff-like flakes on the eyelashes are common symptoms. Blepharitis is caused by low moisture levels in various tissues around the eyes, which result from reduced estrogen levels.
Other eye-related issues that can result from perimenopausal estrogen decline include eye infections, cataracts, glaucoma, and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
We often take our eyes for granted until there is a significant issue. Fortunately, the steps to maintain good eye health are some of the same ones that you should be practicing for long-term health and wellness:
Prioritize Sleep - allowing the eyes to rest is essential for overall eye health.
Eat foods rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 - these oils help maintain the oily layer of your tear film. The best sources are oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), nuts (walnuts, almonds), seeds (flaxseeds, chia seeds), eggs, and leafy greens (spinach, kale).
Take Antioxidants - perimenopausal hormonal changes increase oxidative stress and make the eyes more susceptible to cataracts and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Leafy greens, corn, eggs, oranges, citrus fruits, strawberries, bell peppers, and broccoli are all excellent sources of antioxidants. The antioxidants in green tea are absorbed by the eye's tissues, benefiting eye health.
Maintain Clean Air and Humidify Your Environment - heavily air-conditioned or heated environments can dry eyes. Humidifiers and eye drops can help maintain eye moisture.
Take Breaks from Contact Lenses - give your eyes a rest to avoid dryness and irritation.
Manage Stress Levels - stress triggers inflammation in the body, which can worsen dry eye symptoms.
Stay Hydrated and Use Eye Drops to Increase Eye Moisture - maintain eye moisture and reduce dryness by drinking water daily.
Limit Screen Time - staring at screens for extended periods can lead to eye strain and reduce the blink rate by decreasing tear production and causing dry eyes.
Regular Exercise - enhances blood circulation throughout the body and eyes, helping oxygen and essential nutrients reach the eyes, removing harmful toxins, reducing oxidative stress, and potentially lowering the risk of eye conditions like Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy.
Blinking Exercises - regular blinking exercises can help spread tears evenly across the eye's surface, reducing dryness and discomfort. Try this:
Hold your eyes closed for 2 seconds, open your eyes wide, and repeat.
Aim for 2-3 minutes several times a day.
Remember to consciously blink more frequently throughout the day, especially when reading or working on a computer.
Regular Eye Exams - monitor any changes in your eye health. Eye exams can help detect glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration and find other health problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Don't "overlook" your eye health! It's normal to experience slight eye deterioration as we age. Healthy lifestyle habits and regular eye exams are vital to maintaining optimal eye health during perimenopause and beyond.
