The Effects of Trigeminal Neuralgia

We often cover migraine in this blog because it's such a common neurological disorder and source of pain for tens of millions of Americans. Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is another form of head pain, though, that warrants discussion.

Trigeminal neuralgia is much rarer of a condition than typical headaches and migraines are. Migraine occurs in 6% of men and 18% of women; so to average that, it's active in approximately 12% of the adult population. TN, on the other hand, is active in .01% of people (in other words, 1 out of every 10,000 individuals (1)). The effects of trigeminal neuralgia can be understood with an overview of its definition, symptoms, progression, and treatment.

Trigeminal Neuralgia & Trigeminal Nerve – Definitions

TN is a health disorder stemming from the trigeminal nerve and characterized by extreme pain in certain areas of the face. It typically strikes older people (50+). Medication is standardly used to contain trigeminal neuralgia. If the pharmaceutical drugs fail, surgery is generally the backup plan.

There is a trigeminal nerve on both sides of the face. It sprouts out in the brain near the sideburns, then splits outword in three different directions – roughly speaking, toward the eye (first or ophthalmic branch, extending to your forehead), nose (second or maxillary branch, stopping at your cheek), and mouth (third or mandibular branch, stopping at your jaw).

Trigeminal Neuralgia – Symptoms

Essentially trigeminal neuralgia involves pain coming from the trigeminal nerve. The pain is typically excruciating and arises from the maxillary (cheek-terminating) or mandibular (jaw-terminating) branches of the nerve.

TN attacks are usually unilateral (occurring only on one side), have a pointed or jabbing quality, and last for a few seconds at a time. However, the pain can sometimes last for a couple of minutes or take the form of a string of short-duration mini-attacks.

Trigeminal Neuralgia – Progression

The progression of trigeminal neuralgia is best described as case-by-case. Generally speaking, there are no signs or symptoms prior to the initial attack. In most cases, the attacks stretch out over a relatively short period of time (a few months at the most) before subsiding. Predicting the progression of a particular patient's symptoms is difficult, other than that the instances of pain tend to recur more often with age.

Trigeminal Neuralgia – Treatment

Trigeminal neuralgia is obviously a frustratingly vague health problem. However, we have devised a treatment method that targets TN with a remarkably high rate of success. MiRx Protocol™, like the trigeminal nerve, branches out in different directions to treat your pain. MiRx offers a medication, dispensed in a similar style to a nasal spray, in conjunction with therapies and day-to-day modifications. Locate a provider today.

Sources:
(1) http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Trigeminal-Neuralgia.htm