An unpredictable ‘shooting pain attack’ (throbbing like or electric shock feeling in jaw and mouth condition) that affects part or all of one side of the face, with the pain usually felt in the lower part of the face.
It is normally one sided, brief (<1 second to 2 minutes), very painful, electric shock-like pain episodes in the trigeminal distribution that are abrupt in onset and termination and is precipitated by innocuous stimuli.
Laterality and Site of Pain:
The right side of the face (60%) is affected more than the left side. Bilateral (both sides of face) simultaneous pain in TN is rare (1.7–5%) and more often these patients experience side-alternating unilateral pain paroxysms
The pain of TN most frequently affects the distribution of the maxillary (V2) and mandibular (V3) divisions of the trigeminal nerve, though approximately a quarter of the cases have ophthalmic (V1) division involvement.
Frequency and Duration of Attacks:
The frequency and duration of TN attacks are highly variable. While the pain usually lasts from less than 1 second up to 2 minutes in the majority (74%), a significant minority reports attacks lasting 2–10 minutes. Some patients occasionally have series of paroxysms lasting up to 1 hour, which can cause diagnostic confusion.
Obtaining a good descriptive history of frequency and duration of attacks in short-lasting trigeminal neuralgiform pain conditions is often challenging. Using pain diagrams may help to clarify our definition of a single paroxysm as opposed to a group of paroxysms.
It is a highly debilitating disorder that impacts on basic human functions such as talking, eating, drinking, and touching the face, thereby resulting in a poor quality of life.
Medscape
One may experience attacks of pain regularly for days, weeks or months at a time. In severe cases attacks may occur hundreds of times a day.
It’s possible for the pain to improve or even disappear altogether for several months or years at a time (remission), although these periods tend to get shorter with time.
Women tend to be affected by trigeminal neuralgia more than men, and it usually starts between the ages of 50 and 60.
It’s rare in adults younger than 40.
NHS choices
Trigeminal neuralgia is currently classified into three subgroups:
Classical (most common)
Idiopathic (unknown cause)
Secondary (caused by another condition)
Cause
Unknown – thought to be caused by compression of the trigeminal nerve the fifth cranial nerve (This is the nerve inside the skull that transmits sensations of pain and touch from your face, teeth and mouth to your brain) or the pressure on the nerve wears away its protective outer layer (myelin sheath), which may cause uncontrollable pain signals to travel along the nerve.
Tetanus (particularly if one has had a head or neck injury)
Headache which is on and off or a constant headache longer than 24 hours?
Sharp shooting pain or like having an electric shock in the nasolabial fold (deep wrinkles or lines that form from the bottom of the nose to the corners of the mouth), upper lip, lateral part of the lower lip, chin, cheek, jaw, teeth or gums?
Numbness to face?
Facial muscle contractions?
Aching, throbbing and burning sensation on face?
Sharp attacks of pain on face (unpredictable attacks, that can last from a few seconds to about two minutes. The attacks stop as suddenly as they start)?
Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (characterized by a sharp, jabbing pain deep in the throat, or in the tongue, ear, and tonsils, lasting a few seconds to a few minutes).
Nervus intermedius neuralgia (rare condition characterized by brief paroxysms of pain felt deeply in the auditory canal)
Post-herpetic neuralgia (after having shingles)
Post-traumatic trigeminal neuropathy (injury to the sensory division of the trigeminal nerve)
Atypical odontalgia (chronic pain in a tooth or teeth, or in a site where teeth have been extracted or following endodontic treatment, without an identifiable cause)
SUNCT/SUNA (short, intense bursts of pain on one side of the head, primarily around one eye. There are also involuntary symptoms like eyelid drooping, tearing, nasal stuffiness and facial sweating)
Paroxysmal Hemicrania (rare form of headache that brings on severe throbbing and claw-like pain usually on one side of the face near the eye and occasionally around the back of the neck)
Attack duration 2- 30 mins. Frequency: less than 5 per day
Hemicrania Contiunua (chronic and persistent form of headache marked by continuous pain that varies in severity and always occurs on the same side of the face and head)
Attack duration: over 3 months
Short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headaches with conjunctival injection (eye pain), and tearing/short lasting unilateral neuralgiform headaches
Attack duration 1-600 seconds. Frequency: 1 per day)
Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice
Detailed Information
Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Trigeminal Neuralgia in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).
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