We know optic neuritis as the inflammation of the optic nerve that can occur in the anterior portion of the nerve and visible in the fundus (anterior optic neuritis) or in the thickness of the optic nerve (posterior optic neuritis).
There are multiple causes that can lead to optic neuritis, depending on the age or type of neuritis. In children, the causes par excellence are viral processes or as a side effect of vaccines. In young people, on the other hand, multiple sclerosis is the most frequent cause, while in the adult population it is usually local infarction processes of the optic nerve and, in a small percentage, it is due to systemic vasculitis.
In many cases, however, optic neuritis is idiopathic, i.e. we do not know the cause or causes that trigger it.
Although in many cases the existence of optic neuritis may go completely unnoticed, the most common symptoms are a sudden decrease in vision or a defect in the visual field vision. Other symptoms such as pain with eye movements or chewing, weight loss or anorexia may alert us to the presence of this pathology.
Treatment of optic neuritis
The most important thing to treat it is to know the causes. In cases of infectious neuritis, it should be treated with antibiotics. When they are related to multiple sclerosis or arteritic processes, the indicated treatment is with corticosteroids, while non-arteritic ischemic optic neuritis, there is no specific treatment, although platelet antiaggregation is recommended to avoid other thrombotic phenomena.
The risk arises in those patients who require treatment with corticosteroids at high doses and in very slow descending doses: there is a risk of recurrence of the condition and blindness of the patient.