Trigeminal neuralgia is sudden, severe facial nerve pain. It's often referred as the "suicide disease" because of the significant numbers of people taking their own lives before effective treatments were discovered. Trigeminal Neuralgia has been known now for centuries. It is probably one of the worst kinds of pains known to man. An estimated one in 15,000 people suffers from trigeminal neuralgia, although numbers may be significantly higher due to frequent misdiagnoses. Trigeminal neuralgia is relatively rare an estimated one million people worldwide suffer from trigeminal neuralgia. It usually develops after the age of 40 and affects women in a 2:1 ratio.
The pain in the face has been described as stabbing, piercing or like an electric shock. The intense pain can last from just a few seconds to two minutes each time and can last continuously for a couple of hours or so and random times during the day.
In most cases it only affects one side of the face (unilateral), more commonly the right side. Rarely, people with trigeminal neuralgia have pain on both sides of their face (bilateral).
In 80-90% of cases the pain is caused by pressure on the trigeminal nerve, the largest nerve inside the skull.
For more information on this debilitating ailment please follow the link here TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA or the tab at the top of the page it will take you to THE TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA ASSOCIATION UK WEBSITE.
The aim of the Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK is to offer support and encouragement to TN patients, their families and friends, and to provide information on treatments currently available as well as details of any advances being made in the management of this excruciatingly painful and debilitating condition. Another vital part of our work is to raise awareness amongst medical professionals, particularly GPs and dentists, regarding the diagnosis and treatment.
Astrid Brown (Author)
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