General Information About Papilledema
Disease Details and Frequently Asked Questions
It is the swelling of the optic disc (the starting point of the optic nerve at the back of the eye) caused by increased pressure of the brain fluid or tissue inside the skull being directly transmitted to the eye.
The cause is in the brain, not the eye. Brain tumors, brain hemorrhages, inflammation of the meninges (meningitis), inability to drain brain fluid (hydrocephalus), or Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri) are the primary causes of increased intracranial pressure.
Optic neuritis is typically an inflammation of the nerve seen in one eye associated with MS and causes immediate vision loss. Papilledema, however, occurs in both eyes simultaneously due to cranial pressure and does not impair vision in its early stages.
Symptoms include momentary visual obscurations, severe morning headaches, and projectile vomiting. The high pressure inside the skull can also cause a pulsatile tinnitus (ringing in the ears matching the heartbeat).
It is detected when an eye doctor observes an enlarged, blurred-margin, and hemorrhagic optic disc using an ophthalmoscope or special lenses (fundus examination). As soon as the diagnosis is made, the patient is urgently referred to neurosurgery or neurology.
The treatment aims to save the brain, not just address the edema in the eye. If a tumor is increasing the pressure, it is surgically removed; if hydrocephalus is the cause, a shunt is placed; if it is a pseudotumor, special pills (acetazolamide) that excrete brain fluid via urine are started to save the nerve.
Our health library contents are prepared for informational purposes only and with scientific data available at the time of recording. For all your questions, concerns, diagnosis, or treatment regarding your health, please consult your doctor or a healthcare institution.
