Blurred Vision? You Might Be Dehydrated! Here's What To Do!
Dehydration is a common problem that can have a wide range of symptoms, including blurry vision. If you’ve ever had a headache and couldn’t pinpoint the cause, it could be due to dehydration.
But what exactly is it?
The Basics: Water
Water is essential to the human body. It's involved in every process from digestion and metabolism to cell function, blood circulation and waste removal. Without it, you'd quickly become dehydrated.
What does Dehydration have to do with vision?
Dehydration is the loss of water from the body due to inadequate fluid intake. It can occur at any age, but it’s especially prevalent among older adults because they often have trouble swallowing and digesting large amounts of food and liquid.
The main symptom of dehydration is dry mouth, but it can also cause headaches, fatigue, dizziness and blurry vision.
Dehydration on the Eyes and Vision
When your body is dehydrated, it's harder for fluid to move around your eyes, which can cause blurry vision. In fact, dehydration is one of the most common reasons people come into an optometrist's office with blurry vision (along with eye strain).
Dehydration causes blurry vision because it causes your eyes to have less moisture available for them to work with. When this happens, there isn't enough lubrication for your eyes' lenses to move easily. This makes it difficult for light rays to focus properly on the retina at the back of your eye – resulting in blurry vision.
It goes without saying here that If you're experiencing sudden or long term blurred vision and other eye symptoms like light sensitivity and headaches, then it's time to get checked out by your doctor.
Related article: Blurry Vision & Headaches: What Does it Mean?
Preventing Dehydration
The good news is that dehydration is something you can treat yourself! You just need to make sure your body stays hydrated throughout the day by drinking plenty of water.
The amount of water you need varies depending on factors like age, weight and activity level but generally speaking men need about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) daily while women need 11 cups (2.7 liters) per day.
Not all fluids hydrate!
It's important to know how much water you need each day, because not all drinks count as "water." Some drinks, like coffee and soda, actually dehydrate you. So if you're taking in fewer than 8 glasses of water per day, and drinking a lot of other things instead (like soda or alcohol), then your dehydration could be the cause of your blurred vision!
Conclusion
To sum it up, if your eyes are dry, you should drink more water. And if they're not, then you should still consider doing it. Not only is proper hydration essential for the health of your body in general, but it can also have a tremendous impact on your vision as well. So remember, drink up!