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trigeminal

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a type of chronic pain that affects your face. It causes extreme, sudden burning or shock-like pain. It usually affects one side of the face. Any vibration on your face, even from talking, can set it off. The condition may come and go, disappearing for days or even months. But the longer you have it, the less often it goes away.

TN usually affects people over 50, especially women. The cause is probably a blood vessel pressing on the trigeminal nerve, one of the largest nerves in the head. Tumors and multiple sclerosis can also cause TN, but in some cases the cause is unknown.

There is no specific test for TN. It can be hard to diagnose, since many other conditions can cause facial pain. Treatment options include medicines, surgery, and complementary techniques.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Facial Injuries and Disorders

Face injuries and disorders can cause pain and affect how you look. In severe cases, they can affect sight, speech, breathing and your ability to swallow. Fractures (broken bones), especially in the bones of your nose, cheekbone and jaw, are common facial injuries.

Certain diseases also lead to facial disorders. For example, nerve diseases like trigeminal neuralgia or Bell's palsy sometimes cause facial pain, spasms and trouble with eye or facial movement. Birth defects can also affect the face. They can cause underdeveloped or unusually prominent facial features or a lack of facial expression. Cleft lip and palate are a common facial birth defect.

Jaw Injuries and Disorders

Your jaw is a set of bones that holds your teeth. It includes:

Jaw problems can include:

Diagnostic imaging tests are often used to diagnose jaw injuries and disorders. Your treatment will depend on which jaw problem you have.

Neurologic Diseases

The brain, spinal cord, and nerves make up the nervous system. Together they control all the workings of the body. When something goes wrong with a part of your nervous system, you can have trouble moving, speaking, swallowing, breathing, or learning. You can also have problems with your memory, senses, or mood.

There are more than 600 neurologic diseases. Major types include:

Pain

Pain is a signal in your nervous system that something may be wrong. It is an unpleasant feeling, such as a prick, tingle, sting, burn, or ache. Pain may be sharp or dull. It may come and go, or it may be constant. You may feel pain in one area of your body, such as your back, abdomen, chest, pelvis, or you may feel pain all over.

Pain can be helpful in diagnosing a problem. If you never felt pain, you might seriously hurt yourself without knowing it, or you might not realize you have a medical problem that needs treatment.

There are two types of pain: acute and chronic. Acute pain usually comes on suddenly, because of a disease, injury, or inflammation. It can often be diagnosed and treated. It usually goes away, though sometimes it can turn into chronic pain. Chronic pain lasts for a long time, and can cause severe problems.

Pain is not always curable, but there are many ways to treat it. Treatment depends on the cause and type of pain. There are drug treatments, including pain relievers. There are also non-drug treatments, such as acupuncture, physical therapy, and sometimes surgery.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Peripheral Nerve Disorders

What are peripheral nerves?

Nerves are like wires that carry messages back and forth between your brain and your body. Your peripheral nerves branch off from your brain and spinal cord and connect to all parts of your body, including your muscles and organs. Peripheral nerves carry messages from your brain that control your movement, breathing, heartbeat, digestion, and more. They also carry messages from your body to your brain, so you can feel things, such as pain, heat, and cold.

What are peripheral nerve disorders?

Peripheral nerve disorders happen when one or more peripheral nerves are damaged. Damaged nerves may not carry messages correctly, or they may not work at all. As a result, you may have pain, trouble walking, or a variety of other problems, depending on which nerves are involved.

Peripheral nerve disorders are very common. There are more than 100 different types.

What causes peripheral nerve disorders?

Many things can damage nerves and lead to peripheral nerve disorders:

In certain cases, the cause of peripheral nerve disorder is not known.

What are the symptoms of peripheral nerve disorders?

The symptoms of peripheral nerve disorders depend on which nerves are affected, what is causing the damage, and how serious it is:

Types of nervesPossible symptoms of nerve damageMotor nerves control your muscles and all your movement, such as walking, talking, and using your hands.Sensory nerves carry messages to your brain from your senses, including touch, hot and cold, and pain.Autonomic nerves send messages to your organs to control breathing, digestion, and other body functions that happen without thinking about them.

Symptoms may range from mild to very strong. They may develop quickly over days or slowly over months and years. But they are rarely life-threatening.

How are peripheral nerve disorders diagnosed?

To find out if you have a peripheral nerve disorder, your provider will:

What are the treatments for peripheral nerve disorders?

It's important to treat any conditions that are causing nerve damage. In certain cases, that will allow your nerves to heal over time.

Treatment for symptoms depends on the type of peripheral nerve disorder you have, where it is, and how severe. Treatment options include:

Can peripheral nerve disorders be prevented?

You can help prevent peripheral nerve disorders by:

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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