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Aspirin can cause rapid vision loss
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Pharmacists from an Australian university have once again provided irrefutable evidence that long-term use of the same drug can lead to an unfavorable result. Recent studies have shown that aspirin, which was prescribed by doctors for many diseases in the post-Soviet space, can lead to sudden loss of vision with prolonged, continuous use. Women over fifty years of age are at particular risk.
Thanks to a recent study, scientists have found out that large doses of aspirin (according to some data, 300 mg/day may be prescribed to prevent blood clots) can cause a disease that affects the retina of the eye. Macular degeneration is one of the most common diseases of modern people over fifty. During the development of macular degeneration, the main blow falls on the part of the retina that is responsible for a person's central vision. This disease is also called macular degeneration, to which older women and people with a genetic predisposition to the disease are most prone.
Doctors distinguish two forms of macular degeneration that can develop in older people: wet and dry. Dry is more common and less dangerous; in the initial stage, a light coating with a yellowish tint forms on the retina of the eye, which can destroy photoreceptors. The wet form of macular degeneration is manifested by the fact that new small blood vessels begin to appear behind the retina.
With long-term use, aspirin can cause a more dangerous form of the disease. The study, conducted by scientists from Sydney, consisted of more than two thousand people aged 50 and over being monitored by doctors for fifteen years. Once every three years, all of them underwent a thorough vision check, the results of which were documented at the university. The initial data reported that 230 participants in the study took a fairly large dose of aspirin at least once a week, prescribed by their doctors.
Fifteen years after the experiment began, the researchers were able to take final samples, check the participants' vision one last time, and compare the results. It turned out that wet macular degeneration was rapidly developing in 10% of people who regularly took aspirin, and only in 2% of those who did not use the drug.
It is important to note that the risk of developing the disease increases only after 12-15 years of regular use of aspirin. The drug can be dangerous only with very long-term and constant use. In any case, it is not recommended to interrupt treatment on your own, refusing the drug prescribed by the doctor. Without additional consultation, refusing aspirin can cause complications of cardiovascular diseases, which can be more dangerous for elderly people than blindness.
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