Trigeminal Neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN), tic douloureux (also known as prosopalgia) is a neuropathic disorder of one or both of the trigeminal nerves. It causes episodes of intense pain in any or all of the following: the ear, eye, lips, nose, scalp, forehead, teeth or jaw on one side and alongside of the face. It is estimated that 1 in 15,000 people suffer from trigeminal neuralgia, although the actual figure may be significantly higher due to frequent misdiagnosis. TN usually develops after the age of 50, more commonly in females, although there have been cases with patients being as young as three years of age .

TN brings about stabbing, mind-numbing, electric shock-like pain from just a finger's glance of the cheek or spontaneously without any stimulation by the patient. Cold wind, high pitched sounds, loud noise such as concerts or crowds, chewing, talking, can aggravate the condition, and for the worst cases, even smiling, a scarf, the wind or hair on the side of the face is too much to bear.

Email : neuro@trigeminalneuralgia.in

Blog : http://trigeminalinfo.blogspot.com/

The disorder is characterised by episodes of intense facial pain that usually last from a few seconds to several minutes or hours. The episodes of intense pain may occur paroxysmally. To describe the pain sensation, patients may describe a trigger area on the face, so sensitive that touching or even air currents can trigger an episode. It affects lifestyle as it can be triggered by common activities such as eating, talking, shaving and toothbrushing. The attacks are said by those affected to feel like stabbing electric shocks, burning, pressing, crushing, exploding or shooting pain that becomes intractable.

Individual attacks usually affect one side of the face at a time, lasting from several seconds to a few minutes and repeat up to hundreds of times throughout the day. The pain also tends to occur in cycles with remissions lasting months or even years. 10-12% of cases are bilateral, or occurring on both sides. Pain attacks typically worsen in frequency or severity over time. Many patients develop the pain in one branch, then over years the pain will travel through the other nerve branches.

Email: neuro@trigeminalneuralgia.in

Blog:http://trigeminalinfo.blogspot.com/