TN or Trigeminal Neuralgia is also referred to as tic douloureux. It is a condition or an ailment where the patient suffers from shooting and intermittent pain in the face. This is an ailment where the trigeminal nerve of a person gets affected. This is one of the largest out of all the nerves of a human being’s head. The trigeminal nerve performs several functions such as transmitting impulses of pain, temperature, pressure as well as touch from a person’s face, areas near the eyes, gums, jaws and forehead to his or her brain.
A severe and sudden stabbing or ‘electric-shock like’ pain can be caused by Trigeminal Neuralgia that may last for several seconds. These bouts of pain can be felt when a person may be applying facial makeup, brushing his or her teeth, swallowing the food or may be when a light breeze is felt on the face. Thought the actual cause is not known, here are a few possible reasons of the ailment.
- A blood vessel that pressed on the trigeminal nerve of the stem of your brain can cause Trigeminal Neuralgia. As time progresses, changes in the brain’s blood vessels rub against the root of the trigeminal root leading to irritation of the nerve.
- The ailment may be also caused by neurological conditions that can negatively impact myelin sheath like multiple sclerosis.
- Though rare, but at time trigeminal neuralgia can be also caused due to the growth of a tumor on one’s trigeminal nerve,. In some instances the ailment may not have any specific cause.
Generally, a patient who is suffering from such an ailment feels the pain on one side of his cheek or jaw. But some patients may feel the pain on both sides at different times. The patient may have the attacks of such pains for repetitive number of times. Often such pains may keep coming back for the entire day or it may even last for several days and months at a stretch. However, this is a disorder that is more prevalent among women than in men and mostly affect people who are less than 50 years of age.
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