- Symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia
- How to confirm the diagnosis
- What causes trigeminal neuralgia
- How is the treatment
Trigeminal neuralgia is a neurological disorder characterized by compression of the trigeminal nerve, which is responsible for controlling the masticatory muscles and for transporting sensitive information from the face to the brain, resulting in pain attacks, especially in the lower part of the face, but which can also radiate to the region around the nose and the upper part of the eyes.
The trigeminal neuralgia pain crises are quite painful and can be triggered by simple activities such as touching the face, eating or brushing your teeth, for example. Despite having no cure, pain attacks can be controlled through the use of medications that must be recommended by the doctor, improving the person's quality of life.
Symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia
Symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia usually appear in seizures and can be triggered by everyday activities, such as shaving, applying makeup, eating, smiling, talking, drinking, touching your face, brushing your teeth, smiling and wash your face. The main symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia are:
- Crises of very intense pain in the face, which usually goes from the corner of the mouth to the angle of the jaw; Pain that appears on the face even with light movements, such as touching the face or applying makeup; Tingling in the cheeks; Feeling of heat in the cheek, in the nerve path.
Generally, pain attacks caused by trigeminal neuralgia last for a few seconds or minutes, but there are more serious cases where this pain can last for several days, causing a lot of discomfort and despair. However, crises may not always arise with the same activity and they may not appear whenever there is a triggering factor.
How to confirm the diagnosis
The diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia is usually made by the dentist through the assessment of symptoms and the location of pain. However, in order to detect other causes, such as dental infection or a fracture of the tooth, diagnostic tests such as an X-ray of the mouth or an MRI, for example, in which alteration in the path of the nerve can also be ordered.
What causes trigeminal neuralgia
Neuralgia is usually caused by increased pressure on the trigeminal nerve that innervates the face, being more common due to the displacement of a blood vessel that ends up resting on the nerve.
However, this situation can also happen in people with brain injuries or autoimmune diseases that affect the nerves, such as multiple sclerosis, where the myelin sheath of the trigeminal nerve wears out, causing nerve malfunction.
How is the treatment
Despite having no cure, trigeminal neuralgia attacks can be controlled, improving the person's quality of life. For this, it is recommended by the general practitioner, dentist or neurologist to use anticonvulsant drugs, analgesics or antidepressants in order to reduce pain. In the most severe cases, patients may need physical therapy or even surgery to block nerve function.
Better understand the treatment options for trigeminal neuralgia.
