Trigeminal Neuralgia

What is Trigeminal Neuralgia

Neuralgia is the medical term used to describe nerve pain. Trigeminal neuralgia is an extremely painful condition that affects the trigeminal nerve in the face, which is also called the fifth cranial nerve. The trigeminal nerve plays a very important role in the face, being responsible for sensing touch, pressure, pain and temperature in the jaw, gums, forehead and around the sensitive eye area. Since it controls sensation in almost the entire face, pain in the trigeminal nerve can affect many different parts of the face.

What are the Causes of Trigeminal Neuralgia

In the vast majority of cases of trigeminal neuralgia, the exact cause is unknown. In very rare cases, however, a cause may be found.

Among the causes are:

• Injury to the face, or oral surgery.
• Autoimmune disorders, in which the immune system attacks the person's own body. These include SLE (Lupus), Multiple Sclerosis and Scleroderma.
• Herpes Zoster (Shingles), which is an extremely painful viral infection affecting the nerves.
• An abnormality in the arteries or blood vessels which can result in compression of the nerve.
• Malignant or non-malignant tumours which may also compress the nerve.

Trigeminal neuralgia is more common among women than men. It rarely affects people under 50 years of age and there is no known way of preventing it.

Traditional Medical Treatments for Trigeminal Neuralgia

The condition is commonly treated with tegretol, an anti-seizure drug that is used in some forms of epilepsy. This works by stabilising the trigeminal nerve, thus relieving the pain.

If medication fails to control the pain it may become necessary to perform a nerve block. This involves direct injection of the trigeminal nerve resulting in the blockage of pain signals through the nerve.

In the rarer cases where the cause of trigeminal neuralgia is known, treatment of the underlying condition may stop the nerve pain.