Trigeminal neuralgia or tic douloureux is a constant pain condition which affects certain nerves in your face. You may feel the pain like an electric shock, and it can at times be severe. Treatment for the condition may include medication and surgery.
To know more about trigeminal neuralgia helps understand how the affected nerves are laid out. You have 12 pairs of cranial nerves in your head. The trigeminal nerves are among these pairs, and they allow you to feel sensations in your face. The single nerve runs down both sides of your head.
Every trigeminal nerve divides into three branches, controlling the sensation for different parts of your face. These are
The condition may affect any of the three nerve branches, meaning you might feel pain from your forehead to your jaw. Generally, you’ll experience pain on only one side of your face. Sometimes, people feel it on both sides. When that occurs, the condition is called bilateral trigeminal neuralgia.
Doctors believe a sudden and severe attack of pain to be signs of classic trigeminal neuralgia. If the pain is less severe but steady, more of an aching, burning sensation, you may have atypical trigeminal neuralgia.
The condition starts with irritation of the trigeminal nerve. You may have a blood vessel pressing on the nerve, destructing the protective coating about it, which is known as the myelin sheath.
Some diseases, like multiple sclerosis, may also injure the myelin sheath. At times a tumor or a tangle of arteries presses on the nerve.
The trigeminal nerve may also be injured possibly by surgery, an accident, or a stroke.
The diagnosis for trigeminal neuralgia mainly depends on your description of the pain, including:
Your doctor may carry out various tests to diagnose trigeminal neuralgia and find out underlying causes for your condition, including:
A neurological examination: After touching and examining parts of your face, your doctor may find out exactly where the pain is happening and if you have trigeminal neuralgia, which branches of the trigeminal nerve might be affected. Reflex tests too may help your doctor decide if your symptoms are caused by a compressed nerve or any other condition.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Your doctor may recommend an MRI scan of your head to find out if multiple sclerosis or a tumor is causing trigeminal neuralgia. Sometimes, your doctor can inject a dye into a blood vessel to observe the arteries and veins and highlight blood flow (magnetic resonance angiogram).
Your facial pain may occur due to various conditions, so an exact diagnosis is important. Your doctor may recommend extra tests to rule out other conditions.
The treatment options to deal with this condition includes medication and surgery
Medication: Your doctor can prescribe medicines known as anticonvulsants which keep the nerves from reacting to irritation. You also can take muscle relaxants, either alone or along with anticonvulsants. Usual pain tablets don’t work well for patients with trigeminal neuralgia; therefore your doctor may recommend a tricyclic antidepressant to control your symptoms.
Surgery: with time, your medicines may become less effective. That’s common among patients with trigeminal neuralgia. If that occurs, you have numerous surgical options.
Some of these practices are outpatient, means you don’t require to be admitted in a hospital. Some procedures need general anesthesia, that means you won’t be awake throughout the surgery.
Your doctor may help you make a decision which surgery is suitable for you, according to your overall health, which nerves are involved, and your choice.
Procedures may include:
It may include:
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