The causes of optic nerve damage are poor blood flow, eye diseases like glaucoma, poor blood flow (ischemic optic neuropathy), shock or trauma, toxins such as lead or carbon monoxide, radiation, or diseases of the central nervous system.
The symptoms of optic nerve damage are pain, visual field loss, loss of color vision, flashing lights, inflammation, distorted vision and temporary or in some more severe cases permanent vision loss.
Pain. Most people who develop optic neuritis have eye pain that's worsened by eye movement.
Vision loss in one eye.
Most people have at least some temporary reduction in vision, but the extent of loss varies.
Visual field loss.
Loss of color vision.
Flashing lights
Decline in the field of vision.
Distorted vision.
Inflammation in the eye.
Temporary or permanent vision loss.
Unusual symptoms include numbness or weakness of the limbs, which may be a result of a neurological disorder.
An optometrist can usually tell if you have MS through an eye exam.
An eye scan and eye exam can detect MS or debilitating neurological disease multiple sclerosis.
A common visual symptom of MS is optic neuritis — inflammation of the optic (vision) nerve.
Optic neuritis usually occurs in one eye and may cause aching pain with eye movement, blurred vision, dim vision, or loss of color vision.
For example, the color red may appear washed out or gray.
Although the symptoms can be disturbing, the best treatment may be no treatment at all.
This happens when the muscles that control eye movement are not coordinated because one or more of them is not working properly.
In MS, the problem occurs in the part of the brain that controls the nerves that go to these muscles.
People with MS may experience blindness, whether partial or full.
Advanced demyelination can destroy your optic nerve or other parts of your body responsible for vision.
This can permanently affect eyesight.
Common early signs of multiple sclerosis (MS) include:
vision problems.
tingling and numbness.
pains and spasms.
weakness or fatigue.
balance problems or dizziness.
bladder issues.
sexual dysfunction.
cognitive problems.
The most common cause for ON is inflammatory demyelination of the optic nerve.
Demyelination is a process in which the myelin is stripped off by disease.
It is believed that ON is an autoimmune process, where for some unknown reason the immune system attacks tissues of the body causing injury.
The most commonly associated ocular finding with MS is sudden onset vision loss due to optic neuritis (an inflammation of the optic nerve).
The amount of vision loss can vary, but typically ranges from 20/60 to 20/200 in the involved eye.
There's currently no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), but medicines and other treatments can help control the condition [JJ1] and ease some of the symptoms.
Treatment for MS depends on the stage of the disease and the specific symptoms the person has.
It may include: treating relapses of MS symptoms (with steroids)