Trigeminal Neuralgia

The trigeminal nerve is the fifth cranial nerve. It is the largest of the twelve cranial nerves. The trigeminal nerve is responsible for relaying information to and from facial area as both sensory and motor functions. People that have trigeminal neuralgia live with intense paralyzing facial pain that may occur for a matter of seconds up to several minute. This horrific pain may increase in occurrence and in duration over the years. Trigeminal neuralgia can be stimulated by performing basic tasks such as mastication, brushing of the teeth or even delinquently touching the face. The exact cause of trigeminal neuralgia is not known but it is speculated that pressure is placed on the nerve from a surrounding blood vessel or artery. Although TN has been seen in family members and their off spring it is still undetermined if it possesses a hereditary link.
Who is affect?
Trigeminal neuralgia is more prevalent in women than in men and it does not age discriminate, however; it is seen more often in persons fifty years of age and older.
Treatment
There are a few treatment options of which to choose, however; the use of opiates or analgesics is not among these options. According to the Mayo Clinic, the pharmacological relief for trigeminal neuralgia includes:
· Anticonvulsant
· Antispasticity agents (muscle relaxer)
Alternative treatments include:
· Alcohol injection (numbs the nerves)
· Surgery
Microvascular decompression which involves removal veins that may be compression the trigeminal nerve or placement of a pad between the nerve and an artery.
Balloon compression which presses on the trigeminal nerve until the nerve damaged and pain signals are no longer conveyed.
Electric shock
Partial sensory rhizotomy (severing of the nerve)
Radiation directly to the nerve.
· Alternative treatments (acupuncture)
An MRI is performed, but it is not ordered to diagnosis trigeminal neuralgia rather to rule of the presence of multiple sclerosis.