Many patients after visiting the ophthalmologist's office are faced with a diagnosis of "congestive optic nerve head". This term is not always clear, which makes patients seek additional information. What is accompanied by such a condition and what complications is fraught with? What are the main reasons for the development of stagnation? What can modern medicine offer as a treatment?
What is pathology?
First of all, it is worth understanding the meaning of the term. Not everyone knows that in fact this diagnosis implies edema. Congestive optic disc is a pathology that is accompanied by edema, and its appearance is not associated with an inflammatory process.
This condition is not an independent disease. Puffiness in most cases is associated with a persistent increase in intracranial pressure. This problem is encountered not only in adulthood - a congestive optic nerve head in a child is often diagnosed. This pathologynaturally affects vision and, if left untreated, can lead to nerve atrophy and blindness. Edema can be unilateral, but according to statistical studies, the disease often affects both eyes at once.
Congestive optic disc: causes
As already mentioned, in most cases, swelling develops against the background of increased intracranial pressure. And there can be many reasons for this:
- About 60-70% of cases of congestive optic disc is associated with the presence of a tumor in the brain. To date, it has not been possible to determine whether there is a relationship between the size of the neoplasm and the appearance of edema. On the other hand, it is known that the closer the tumor is to the sinuses of the brain, the faster the congestive disc is formed and progresses.
- Inflammatory lesions of the membranes of the brain (in particular, meningitis) can also provoke pathology.
- Risk factors also include abscess formation.
- A congested disc can develop as a result of a traumatic brain injury or hemorrhage in the ventricles and brain tissue.
- The same pathology is sometimes observed in hydrocephalus (a condition that is accompanied by a violation of the normal outflow of cerebral fluid and its accumulation in the ventricles).
- Uncharacteristic atriovenous messages between vessels lead to tissue edema.
- Often, the cause of the development of a congestive optic disc is cysts, as well as other formations that gradually increase in size.sizes.
- Such a pathology can develop against the background of thrombosis of blood vessels that provide blood circulation in the brain.
- Other possible causes include diabetes mellitus, chronic hypertension and other diseases that eventually lead to metabolic and hypoxic brain tissue damage.
In fact, it is very important during the diagnosis to determine exactly the cause of the development of edema of the optic nerve, since the treatment regimen and the patient's quick recovery depend on it.
Features of the clinical picture and symptoms of pathology
Of course, the list of symptoms is something worth reading. After all, the sooner this or that violation is noticed, the sooner the patient will consult a doctor. Immediately it should be said that in the presence of this pathology, normal vision is preserved, and for a long time. But many patients complain of occasional headaches.
A congestive optic disc is characterized by a sharp deterioration in vision, up to blindness. As a rule, it is short-term, and then everything returns to normal for a while. A similar phenomenon is associated with a spasm of blood vessels - for a moment, the nerve endings stop receiving nutrients and oxygen. In some patients, such "attacks" are observed only occasionally, other patients suffer from changes in vision almost every day. Needless to say, how dangerous sudden blindness can be, especially if at that moment a person is driving a car, crossing the street,works with a dangerous tool.
Over time, the retina is also involved in the process, which is accompanied by a significant decrease in the field of view. When examining the fundus, the doctor may notice small hemorrhages, which occurs due to impaired blood circulation in the structures of the eye analyzer. If you have these symptoms, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.
Stages of disease development
It is customary to distinguish several stages of pathology development:
- At the initial stage, there is hyperemia of the disc, narrowing of small arteries and tortuosity of venous vessels.
- Pronounced stage - congestive optic disc increases in size, small hemorrhages appear around it.
- At a pronounced phase, the disc strongly protrudes into the vitreous body zone, changes are observed in the area of the retinal macula.
- Followed by the stage of atrophy, in which the disk flattens and becomes dirty gray. It is during this period that noticeable vision problems begin to appear. First, there is a partial, and then a complete loss of vision.
The initial stage of the disease and its features
As mentioned above, at the initial stages of the development of pathology, the patient may not be aware of the presence of a problem at all, since there are simply no pronounced visual impairments. During this period, it is possible to diagnose a violation - as a rule, this happens by chance duringscheduled eye exam time.
The discs swell and increase in size, their edges are fuzzy and go into the vitreous body. In about 20% of patients, the pulse in the small veins disappears. Despite the absence of visible symptoms, the retina also begins to swell.
What happens with the further development of the disease?
If left untreated, some signs can already be seen. What are the complications of a congested optic disc? The symptoms look pretty typical. Patients gradually decrease visual acuity. During the examination, you can notice the expansion of the boundaries of the blind spot.
In the future, stagnation of blood in the veins develops, and circulatory disorders, as you know, affect the work of the optic nerve. Disc edema is getting worse. The disease can go into a chronic phase. At this stage, visual acuity either improves or drops sharply. In this case, a narrowing of the normal field of vision can be observed.
Modern diagnostic methods
Congestive optic disc is a disease that can be diagnosed by an ophthalmologist, as a specialist may suspect something is wrong with a thorough examination and vision check. But since the pathology is associated with diseases of the nervous system, the treatment is carried out by a neurologist or a neurosurgeon.
The presence of edema can be accurately determined during retinotomography. In the future, additional studies are carried out, the purpose of which is to determine the degree of development of edema and identify the main cause of development.diseases. For this, the patient is sent for an ultrasound examination of the optic nerve. In the future, X-ray examination of the skull, computed tomography and optical coherence tomography are carried out.
Congestive optic disc treatment
Immediately it should be said that therapy largely depends on the cause of development, since it is necessary to treat, first of all, the primary disease. For example, with meningitis, patients are prescribed appropriate antibacterial (antifungal, antiviral) drugs. With hydrocephalus, it is necessary to ensure the normal circulation of cerebrospinal fluid, etc.
In addition, a congestive optic disc requires maintenance therapy in order to prevent the development of secondary atrophy. To begin with, dehydration is carried out, which removes excess fluid and reduces swelling. Patients are also prescribed vasodilator drugs that normalize blood circulation in the nervous tissue, providing the cells with the necessary amount of oxygen and nutrients. Part of the treatment is also taking metabolic drugs that improve and maintain the metabolism in neurons, ensuring the normal functioning of the optic nerve.
When the primary cause is eliminated, the congestive optic disc disappears - the work of the brain and the visual analyzer returns to normal. But the lack of treatment often leads to complete loss of vision. That is why in no case should you refuse therapy and neglect the advice of a doctor.
Are there preventive measures?
Immediately it should be said that there are no drugs or specific drugs that can prevent the development of pathology. The only thing that doctors can recommend is regular preventive checks by an ophthalmologist. Naturally, you should avoid situations that threaten brain injury.
All infectious and inflammatory diseases, especially when it comes to lesions of the nervous system, must be treated, and therapy should not be stopped until the body is fully restored. At the slightest visual impairment or the appearance of alarming symptoms, you should consult an ophthalmologist or neurologist.
