al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala al-Uyun

al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala al-Uyun (Arabic: الخمر وتأثيرها على العيون, lit. 'Alcohol and Its Effect on the Eyes') is a specialized medical study by the ophthalmologist Fikri al-Sayyid Awad examining the pathological impact of alcohol consumption on the human visual system al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala….

Subject and Scope

The treatise was authored by Dr. Fikri al-Sayyid Awad, an ophthalmologist at the university, and appeared in the journal of the Islamic University of Madinah al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…+1. The work restricts its medical investigation to three primary aspects of ocular health: the optic nerve, the muscles responsible for eye movement, and the blood vessels that supply the eye al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala….

The author introduces the chemical nature of alcohol, noting that alcoholic beverages contain varying concentrations of alcohol, which is the compound responsible for their harmful effects al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…. The text distinguishes between ethyl alcohol—widely used as an antiseptic, solvent, and industrial agent—and methyl alcohol (wood alcohol), highlighting that methyl alcohol is the most toxic form al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala….

Anatomical Foundation and Neurological Effects

To explain alcohol's ocular impact, the author reviews the anatomy of the central and peripheral nervous systems, focusing on the cranial nerves related to vision and eye movement: the second cranial nerve (the optic nerve, responsible for sight), the third cranial nerve (controlling most ocular muscles), the fourth cranial nerve (innervating the superior oblique muscle), and the sixth cranial nerve (innervating the rectus muscle) al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…. The treatise also addresses the autonomic nervous system, explaining how sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves regulate pupillary dilation and vascular constriction al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala….

The text details how alcohol damages these nerves through direct cellular atrophy or indirectly through severe deficiency in vitamin B complex al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…. Key conditions and mechanisms discussed include:

• Toxic amblyopia and optic neuritis: Chronic damage to optic nerve fibers caused by ethyl alcohol, which is exacerbated when combined with tobacco use al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…. It manifests in patients aged 35 to 50 as blurred vision in dim light, progressive loss of central vision, and red-color blindness, treatable in early stages by complete cessation of alcohol and smoking alongside high doses of thiamine and vitamin B12 al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…+1.
• Methyl alcohol toxicity: Ingestion leads to breakdown into formaldehyde and formic acid, causing nausea, headaches, rapid visual field constriction, and permanent blindness due to primary optic atrophy al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…+1.
• Oculomotor disturbances: Alcohol affects nerve axons, frequently damaging the sixth cranial nerve (abducens) and causing diplopia (double vision), nystagmus, conjunctival congestion, blepharitis, and central nervous system disorders such as Wernicke's encephalopathy al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…+1. It also references Zieve's syndrome, where liver enlargement and hemolytic anemia cause jaundice and yellowing of the conjunctiva al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala….
• Retinal and sleep disruption: Chronic toxicity impairs photoreceptor cells (rods and cones), inducing partial color blindness, and suppresses rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, depriving the individual of restorative rest al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…+1.
• Vascular complications: Alcohol raises blood cholesterol levels, causing sub-intimal deposition, arterial narrowing, and atherosclerosis al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala…+1. Thrombosis in the main ophthalmic artery leads to sudden blindness, while impaired autonomic vascular reflexes cause dizziness, blurred vision, or fainting upon standing al-Khamr wa Tathiruha ala….