Throwback Thursday – The Changing Of The Eyes

16 April, 2020 | By: Purple | Permalink

A friend of mine wrote a Facebook post yesterday, about how her eyes had been changing in colour, from fully blue to partially brown, due to various factors. While it’s not common, eyes can change colour throughout your life – and, indeed, mine changed colour, from blue to green, during my early twenties. I have no idea what caused them to do so, unless it was associated with a time of particular stress in my life, but the change was very gradual, over a few years. I will illustrate below with a few old pictures:

Me at 16
Me in July 1999, just before I turned 17. You can clearly see two things: 1) I was a massive cliché of a Manics fan, and 2) my eyes were definitely blue. (I also regret over-plucking my eyebrows and wish they were still that thick!)
Me at 21
Me in November 2003, aged 21, after a period of heavy stress in my life. You can see that my eyes have started changing colour here.
Me at 26
Me in September 2009, after I’d just turned 26. The colour change to green has pretty much fully happened here, although it’s not the perfect photo to display it. You can also see some hazel colouring around my pupils, which is still there (and spreading) today.

These days, my eye colour is a little darker than it was in 2009. I can still see some flecks of blue in them, more so in my right eye than my left, but the colour has definitely changed overall. Who knows, I may end up with brown eyes by the time I’m eighty! I know that a possible reason for a colour change is exposure to melanin, although it probably wouldn’t explain my case as I’ve always avoided the sun! It can also be through eye disease; of course, I’m hoping it’s not that – although anyone who knows me will know how poor my eyesight is, which is why I use a white cane at times (and THAT is why we always sit at the front at tournaments – or I wouldn’t be able to see anything!). I’m also diabetic and at risk of developing glaucoma, which can change pigmentation. I think in my own case, though, it might have been down to high stress levels in my early twenties, and possibly some diet choices (high onion levels in the diet can affect eye colour – who knew?!).

I’d be interested to know if anyone else’s eyes have changed colour also, and if so, from which colour to which. Let me know in the comments or via Twitter (pics are always appreciated too). In the meantime, stay safe and don’t let the lockdown get you down!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *