What is Trigeminal Neuralgia?

 

Trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain is affected in a condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN). It is a chronic pain condition where even a mild stimulation of your face like from brushing the teeth or putting on makeup, may trigger a jolt of excruciating pain.

In this article, 3MEDS, the best healthcare service provider in India, discusses about the trigeminal nerve and its related complications.

What is Trigeminal nerve?

The fifth of 12 pairs of cranial nerves in the head, is the trigeminal nerve, responsible for providing sensation to the face. There are two trigeminal nerves present, one runs to the right side of the head, while the other runs to the left. Each of these nerves has three distinct branches, and so the name ‘Trigeminal’ which is derived from the Latin word, meaning ‘tria’ is three, and ‘geminus’ is twin. After the trigeminal nerve leaves the brain and travels inside the skull, it divides into three smaller branches, controlling sensations throughout the face:

·         First branch- controls sensation in a person's eye, upper eyelid and forehead.

·         Second branch- controls sensation in the lower eyelid, cheek, nostril, upper lip and upper gum.

·         Third branch- controls sensations in the jaw, lower lip, lower gum and some of the muscles used for chewing.

Causes of Trigeminal Neuralgia


Trigeminal Neuralgia is a rare condition whose cause is still unfound. But, some of the causes that might trigger this condition are,

·         Swollen blood vessel or tumor that puts pressure on the nerve

·         Multiple sclerosis, a condition that damages the myelin sheath, which is the protective coating around nerves

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, anyone can get TN, but is more common among women than men. Although it can occur at any age, it’s more common in people over the age of 50.

Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia

·         Electric shock type, episodes of extreme, shooting or jabbing pain

·         Continuous pain attacks triggered by acts like touching the face, chewing, speaking, blowing the nose, encountering a light breeze, applying makeup, smiling, shaving, brushing teeth or drinking cold or hot beverages.

·         Bouts of pain that may be temporary or long lasting

·         Constant ache, burn feeling which may occur before the evolving into the spasm- like pain of trigeminal neuralgia

·         Pain in the areas like teeth, jaw, check, gums, lips, eyes and forehead

·         Pain may affect one or both sides of the face

Diagnosis of Trigeminal Neuralgia

The condition is diagnosed based on the description of pain such as type, location and triggers. Few tests may be recommended by the doctor like,

·         Neurological examination

·         Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Treating Trigeminal Neuralgia

As said before, this is rare condition with its cause unfound, so even the treatment for the same isn’t specific. But, some treatment methods are followed to ease the pain and provide some relief.

Medication

Medication can provide relief from pain and reduce the number of attacks. Some of the medication include, anticonvulsants, antispasmodic agents and botox injection. These can be bought at any online chemist shop.

Surgery

Some of the common surgical procedures used to treat TN include, microvascular decompression, brain stereotactic radiosurgery or Gamma knife. Few other procedures are glycerol Injections, balloon compression, radiofrequency thermal lesioning. Other method would be severing the nerve or relocating blood vessels that may be putting pressure on the nerve.

Alternative option

Few steps can help improve the provided treatment, such as,

·         Acupuncture

·         Biofeedback

·         Chiropractic

·         Vitamin or nutritional therapy

Ending note

Approximately 5.7 per 100,000 women and 2.5 per 100,000 men are diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, each year around the world. There is still research being carried out to find the cause of the condition. As only then, treatment method can be brought out successfully.

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