Most people with Trigeminal Neuralgia will be prescribed medicine to help control their pain, although surgery may be considered for the longer term in cases where medicine is ineffective or causes too many side effects.
You want to know What is Trigeminal Neuralgia? Ok, if your answer is yes, the following will explain all about of what kind of condition Trigeminal Neuralgai is, just keep reading.
Trigeminal Neuralgia is a neuropathic chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve in a patient's face, known as one of the most painful conditions in the medical world. The potential social impacts of TN are considered using a qualitative and quantitative research approach. Using a review of studies on analogous chronic pain conditions, a questionnaire was developed to explore how TN may impact a patient's social interactions, relationships, ability to attend social events, and role within his or her community.
TN is caused by harm to the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve sends branches throughout the face to the forehead, cheek, and lower jaw. This widespread distribution of nerve branches shows how impactful the trigeminal nerve is in sending sensory information throughout the face. Therefore, any irritation to the trigeminal nerve may result in extensive pain.
The painful attacks of trigeminal neuralgia can sometimes be brought on, or made worse, by certain triggers, so it may help to avoid these triggers if possible.For example, if your pain is triggered by wind, it may help to wear a scarf wrapped around your face in windy weather. A transparent dome-shaped umbrella can also protect your face from the weather. If your pain is triggered by a draft in a room, avoid sitting near open windows or the source of air conditioning.
As painkillers like paracetamol are not effective in treating trigeminal neuralgia, you'll usually be prescribed an anticonvulsant - a type of medicine used to treat epilepsy - to help control your pain. Anticonvulsants were not originally designed to treat pain, but they can help to relieve nerve pain by slowing down electrical impulses in the nerves and reducing their ability to send pain messages. They need to be taken regularly, not just when the pain attacks happen, but you can stop taking them if the episodes of pain cease and you're in remission.
Trigeminal Neuralgia Risk Factors
This starts with irritation of the trigeminal nerve. You might have a blood vessel pressing on the nerve, damaging the protective coating around it, which is called the myelin sheath. Certain diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, also can injure the myelin sheath. Sometimes a tumor or a tangle of arteries presses on the nerve.
Your trigeminal nerve can also be injured -- perhaps by surgery, an accident, or a stroke.
Some people are more likely to get trigeminal neuralgia than others:
Women are more likely than men to get trigeminal neuralgia.
The disease is more common in people older than 50.
The disorder may run in families, perhaps because of how blood vessels are formed in the brain.
It may also be linked to high blood pressure.
Although the pain can be intense, the condition is not life-threatening. It can be a progressive disease, though, meaning that it gets worse over time.
