Everyone faces some type of facial pain at one time or another. Facial pain can be anything from a tooth ache, a sinus infection, a facial injury, TMJ or Trigeminal neuralgia. The first group the tooth ache, the sinus infection, injury and TMJ are all common facial ailments. They can be treated with either antibiotics or an over the counter medications. Trigeminal Neuralgia or TN is a facial ailment that can be described as a shooting pain in the face. TN affects the trigeminal nerve, which is the largest nerve, located in the head. The nerve sends impulses of touch, pressure, pain and temperature to the brain from the facial area including the jaw, gums, and forehead and in the optical area.

The most common cause of Trigeminal Neuralgia is when a blood vessel is pressing on the nerve located near the brain stem. With time the blood vessel changes the other blood vessels to the brain and can result in the blood vessel pressing on the trigeminal nerve root. The ever present rubbing of the blood vessels with each heartbeat can wear away the inside of the membrane and can end up resulting in nerve irritation.

The symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia can be quick and serious stabbing pain that can last for a few seconds. The pain is felt on the face itself, targeting the lips, mouth, nose and forehead and scalp. A symptom can happen from the smallest activity such as brushing your teeth or putting on makeup and in rare cases even a light breeze. This type of pain found in Trigeminal Neuralgia is the most severe pain you can feel. The pain is sometimes felt on one side of the cheek but it is not limited to one side of the face.

The pain is not limited to a one shot deal, you maybe feeling this pain several times throughout the day and can last for weeks and even months. This disorder is mostly common in women and usually does not occur in people under 50. An MRI is used to diagnose whether or not it is a tumor or MS that is aggravating the trigeminal nerve root. If the MRI can’t detect it, there really is no other test that can be done to a 100 % certainty.

The good news is that TN can be treated with anti seizure medications such as Tegretol. There may be other medications such as Klonapin or Depakote that can be effective as well. Check with your doctor and when prescribing your medication please ask about the side affects.

For additional information and resources on Chronic Pain, visit PainsWeb.com. The author Sam Carson is a chronic pain patient and publisher of PainsWeb.com. His website specializes in conveying targeted information about all types of Chronic Pain and helps you find associated information, patient resources and forums etc to manage your pain. Authors can submit quality original articles to PainsWeb.com and get a back link to their site.