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Nicklaus Children’s Hospital has several outpatient and urgent care centers throughout South Florida, including on-demand, virtual care.
Walk-in urgent care with no appointment needed.
Serving as your child's primary doctor's office.
Pediatric specialty consultations available closer to home.
A full range of comprehensive services all under one roof.
Connect with providers from the comfort of your own home.
With over 800 pediatric clinicians on staff, we’re dedicated to helping you connect with the right specialist for your needs.
We have expertise in treating children and educating families on hundreds of different conditions.
We use cutting-edge, specialized treatments and procedures to ensure the best care for your child.
Also known as: ON.
The optic nerve is the nerve pathway that connects the eye to the brain, sending visual messages to the brain for interpretation. Optic neuritis is an inflammation of the optic nerve, which becomes swollen, doesn’t function normally and results in loss of vision. It can occur in one or both eyes.
Optic neuritis is probably an autoimmune disorder which frequently follows an infection, though the cause is often unclear. It is common with other conditions like multiple sclerosis.
The earliest symptoms are usually sudden and significant loss of vision; loss of color perception, loss of side vision, or perceiving flashing or flickering light, and eye pain with eye movement.
Optic neuritis often improves on its own over a few weeks. A short course of corticosteroid medication may decrease the inflammation.
Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP
This page was last updated on: November 06, 2023 04:27 PM
Nicklaus Children’s Hospital specializes in pediatric eye conditions, ophthalmologic diseases and overall vision care.
An autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s immune system (the body's natural defense system against bacteria, viruses and other foreign invaders) mistakenly attacks its own organs and tissues.
Multiple sclerosis (MS), is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system, attacks and inflames the central nervous system and organs.