The nerves in my eyes are bigger than normal?

Question

My optometrist told me the nerves behind my eyes (the ones that send messages to my brain) are larger than average.

I am scheduled for another appointment.

But my question is, is this a problem? Will these nerves affect me?

Answer 1

Jess,

I think sarahlee gave a a very useful summary above.  As she mentioned, the important thing at this stage is to screen for glaucoma.  Measuring your intraocular pressure would be the next step if that hasn't been done already.  Also, the optometrist you're seeing might recommend a visual field test to check for any changes in your peripheral vision.

To get diagnosed with glaucoma you basically need to meet two of the following three criteria: abnormalities of the optic disc consistent with glaucoma, high intraocular pressure, and abnormalities on the visual field test.  Again, 2 out of 3 is needed to confirm the diagnosis.  If you only meet one of these, then just follow your optometrist's recommendations for periodic follow up.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Just having larger than average optic nerves is not a bad thing and doesn't affect your vision.  There is a part of your optic nerve called the "cup" which is in the middle of where the optic fibers leave your eye (and come together as your optic nerve).  Enlarging of the cup can be indicative of glaucoma.  Not just having a big cup, but actually having the cup get bigger, because this means optic nerve fibers are dying.  

Sometimes in people with big optic nerves, it's hard to tell if they have big cups because of this or if they just have big cups because they have big optic nerves (like how a bigger bagel would have a bigger hole in the middle, but it's still proportional to a smaller one).  Your optometrist will probably just want to watch you and make sure that your cups are not changing.  

If he or she didn't tell you that you have glaucoma, you don't have glaucoma.  Doctors are well trained to look at cup size and other factors in diagnosing glaucoma, so don't be too worried about it right now.  Just wanted to explain why your doctor would want to monitor you for this.

(This is what I think as an optometry student.  There could be other problems with large optic nerves, but I'm not aware of any.  You should always feel comfortable asking your doctor these kinds of questions, though.  I know that sometimes when the doctor tells you something, you kinda just sit there and listen, and then later you come up with questions.  :)  Just make sure you ask at your next appointment.)