1. Look for Lesions of the Optic Nerve Using an MRI Scan
To determine whether or not your symptoms--loss of vision, loss of color vision and pain in the eye(s) made worse by heat and working out--may be related to an optic nerve defect, your doctor can perform an MRI. This diagnostic test can examine the myelin sheath around your optic nerve by bombarding it with radio waves to create a readable picture.
An MRI is a straightforward procedure with few complications. Your doctor will likely also check for cancerous tumors or other problems that can resemble optic neuritis.
2. Take a Light Test
Due to damage to the optic nerve's myelin sheath, optic neuritis sufferers don't respond to light in the same way that unaffected people do. A so-called pupillary test (your physician literally flashes light in your eye)
can indicate the presence or absence of the condition.
3. Take a Visual Potentials Test
This is another non-invasive procedure in which your doctor flashes patterns (as well as an array of colors) on a screen. Monitors detect your brain's reaction to these stimuli and determine whether or not an electrical conduction problem may be at play. This test can verify damage to the optic nerve and help diagnose optic neuritis.
4. Undergo an Ophthalmoscopy
This is another light-reaction test. In this one, your physician searches for potential problems with the optic disk. In approximately 30 percent of optic neuritis sufferers, this disk swells to an unusual size. Sometimes, an ophthalmoscopy will be performed in conjunction with a visual color potentials test and a pupillary reaction test.
5. Take an Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate Test and/or NMO-IgG Blood Test
These blood tests are respectively used to determine whether there may be an inflammation in your cranial arteries and whether you may be producing antibodies for a different condition (e.g. Neuromyelitis Optica). Usually, your physician will be able to determine whether or not you have optic neuritis without resorting to blood work, but these blood tests can be helpful in determining whether other conditions exist and measuring the severity of the problem.
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