Swelling behind the eye

I was recently diagnois with swelling behind my right eye. I am going to see an ophthalmologist on Tuesday. What exactly is this and what, if any, are the treatments and exams.

Thank you,

Alice Kaeser

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

Are you talking about swelling of the optic nerve.  This is called papilledema and can be caused by increased intracranial pressure around the brain or by inflammation or problems with the optic nerve.  Generally true papilledema would be in both eyes while optic nerve inflammation or swelling which you could call optic neuropathy of different causes, could be in one eye only in many situations.  There are cases where the optic nerves look swollen but are not truly swollen.  This is called pseudopapillema and can be just a family trait in some cases.  In the end, you need a proper evaluation  to first see if you even have an abnormality and if so then a work up can be started to look for the cause.