{"id":17917,"date":"2021-10-14T07:29:46","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T07:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=17917"},"modified":"2021-10-14T07:30:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T07:30:09","slug":"what-are-optic-nerve-drusen","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Optic Nerve Drusen?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>An estimated 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed with optic nerve drusen.<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/how-does-the-eye-work\/eye-anatomy-the-back-of-the-eye\/\">optic nerve<\/a> connects the eye to the brain and transmits the visual information received by the eye to the brain. Any damage to the optic nerve can result in permanent vision loss.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-conditions\/macular-degeneration-guide\/are-retinal-drusen-serious\/\">Drusen<\/a> are deposits on the retina that can lead to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-conditions\/macular-degeneration-guide\/\"> macular degeneration<\/a>. However, drusen can also appear on the optic nerve.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Optic nerve drusen are abnormal protein and calcium deposits that can form within the optic nerve.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>They are most commonly found in both eyes, but can also affect only one eye as well.<\/p>\n<p>The optic nerve usually appears as a round, yellow\/pink area with the blood vessels radiating out from the center. When drusen are present this nerve is elevated with \u2018bumpy\u2019 edges and the margins are blurry or indistinct.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/5-reasons-why-high-eye-pressure-is-serious\/\">5 Reasons Why High Eye Pressure Is Serious<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>If you\u2019ve experienced any change to your vision, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">contact an eye doctor near you<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find an eye doctor near you<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<h2><b>How do optic nerve drusen affect vision?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Although optic nerve drusen rarely damages vision, they can cause peripheral vision loss.<\/p>\n<p>The symptoms are usually minor and go unnoticed by the patient. In older children, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-exams\/eye-exams\/visual-field-testing\/\">visual field examinations<\/a> may be used to monitor for decreasing peripheral vision.<\/p>\n<p>Optic nerve drusen can cause choroidal neovascular membranes, which are an extremely rare complication. These membranes are a group of abnormal blood vessels that develop beneath the retina near the optic nerve. These membranes can bleed on occasion, resulting in an abrupt loss of central\u00a0 vision.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Optic nerve drusen and papilledema<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The most serious issue with optic nerve drusen is that they might be misdiagnosed by some eye care professionals.<\/p>\n<p>Patients with these unusual looking nerves may be suspected as having a serious condition such as papilledema, which is caused by high pressure and swelling in the brain.<\/p>\n<p>The diagnosis of papilledema often requires immediate neuroimaging, lumbar puncture, and hospitalization.<\/p>\n<p>If the optic nerve is not swollen, this is referred to as psuedo-papilledema.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, while optic nerve drusen and papilledema may appear to be identical, they are actually quite different. To avoid any unnecessary exams, it&#8217;s critical to distinguish between these two conditions \u2014 eye doctors can easily distinguish what is what.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/\">Guide to Eye Health<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">Schedule an appointment with an eye doctor near you,<\/a> who can distinguish between optic nerve drusen or something else.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An estimated 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed with optic nerve drusen. The optic nerve connects the eye to the brain and transmits the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1206,"featured_media":17918,"parent":9992,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17917","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Are Optic Nerve Drusen? - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Are Optic Nerve Drusen? - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An estimated 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed with optic nerve drusen. The optic nerve connects the eye to the brain and transmits the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-14T07:30:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Retina-small.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"729\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"493\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/\",\"name\":\"What Are Optic Nerve Drusen? - Optometrists.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Retina-small.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-14T07:29:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-14T07:30:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Retina-small.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Retina-small.jpg\",\"width\":729,\"height\":493},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Primary Eye Care\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Guide to Eye Health\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Eye Health\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"What Are Optic Nerve Drusen?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/\",\"name\":\"Optometrists.org\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Are Optic Nerve Drusen? - Optometrists.org","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Are Optic Nerve Drusen? - Optometrists.org","og_description":"An estimated 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed with optic nerve drusen. The optic nerve connects the eye to the brain and transmits the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/","og_site_name":"Optometrists.org","article_modified_time":"2021-10-14T07:30:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":729,"height":493,"url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Retina-small.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/","url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/","name":"What Are Optic Nerve Drusen? - Optometrists.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Retina-small.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-14T07:29:46+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-14T07:30:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Retina-small.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Retina-small.jpg","width":729,"height":493},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/what-are-optic-nerve-drusen\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Primary Eye Care","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Guide to Eye Health","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Eye Health","item":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"What Are Optic Nerve Drusen?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/","name":"Optometrists.org","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17919,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17917\/revisions\/17919"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}