America’s ongoing opioid epidemic is costing an increasing number of addicts their eyesight. Eye infections caused by bacteria that invade the bloodstream through the use of dirty needles have quadrupled between 2003 and 2016, and the number continues to rise. Pathogens injected in to the bloodstream through IV drug use can cause infection in many different organs, including the brain and heart valves, but the eyes are often the first that are noticeably affected, because by weight, the eye has the highest blood flow of any organ in the body. Once in the eye, infection can spread to the Retina and cause irreparable damage. In the worst cases, an infection can spread outside the eye socket and back into the brain, resulting in a lethal infection. Learn more about the impact of the opioid epidemic on vision at https://bit.ly/2KGVmrG
