What is Trigeminal Neuralgia ?:

Trigeminal neuralgia is a painful, chronic condition which affects the trigeminal nerve and causes facial pain. It causes severe pain along the course of the trigeminal nerve (usually due to irritation or damage to the nerve). The pain is typically abrupt and intense.You may initially experience short, mild attacks. But trigeminal neuralgia can progress and cause longer, more-frequent bouts of searing pain. Trigeminal neuralgia affects women more often than men, and it's more likely to occur in people who are older than 50. The intensity of the pain may cause a person to contort his/her face in a twisted expression. A sudden, stabbing pain associated with this disease is known as tic douloureux.Though the condition is not life-threatening, it can hinder one’s quality of life and can lead to chronic pain syndrome which usually affects the activities of daily life and can lead to depression in some individuals. 

Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia :

Trigeminal neuralgia symptoms may include one or more of these patterns:

• Episodes of severe, shooting or jabbing pain that may feel like an electric shock
• Spontaneous attacks of pain or attacks triggered by things such as touching the face, chewing, speaking or brushing teeth
• Attacks of pain lasting from a few seconds to several minutes
• Pain that occurs with facial spasms
• Bouts of multiple attacks lasting days, weeks, months or longer — some people have periods when they experience no pain
• Pain in areas supplied by the trigeminal nerve, including the cheek, jaw, teeth, gums, lips, or less often the eye and forehead
• Pain affecting one side of the face at a time
• Pain focused in one spot or spread in a wider pattern
• Pain rarely occurring at night while sleeping
• Attacks that become more frequent and intense over time

Causes :

Some of the most common causes of trigeminal neuralgia include:

• Pressure: Pressure on the trigeminal nerve from the surrounding blood vessels can lead to neuralgic pain.
• Trauma: Physical damage to the nerve can occur as a result of facial injury, dental injury or a surgical procedure that can lead to pain.
• Loss of Myelin Sheath: Myelin sheath protects the nerves. Loss of myelin sheath (which can occur as result of aging or condition like multiple sclerosis) can lead to trigeminal neuralgia.
• Inflammatory: Inflammatory disorders like Lyme disease and sarcoidosis (autoimmune disorder causing collection of inflammatory cells) can also lead to the development of trigeminal neuralgia.
• Collagen Vascular Diseases: Diseases like scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus can trigger trigeminal neuralgia. In such diseases, the immune system causes inflammation in the collagen and surrounding joints.

A variety of triggers may set off the pain of trigeminal neuralgia, including:

• Shaving
• Touching your face
• Eating
• Drinking
• Brushing your teeth
• Talking
• Putting on makeup
• Breeze lightly blowing over your face
• Smiling
• Washing your face

Homeopathy for Trigeminal Neuralgia :

Homeopathic treatment for trigeminal neuralgia helps reduce the severity and recurrence of sudden pains. The top homeopathic remedies for trigeminal neuralgia include medicines like Spigelia, Magnesia Phosphorica, and Verbascum.
In the homeopathic mode of treatment, the treatment begins once a complete case history is taken, including the location, sensation, time and modalities of the pain. Particular attention is paid to the factors that trigger the complaint. Homeopathic treatment for trigeminal neuralgia works by acting internally to treat the underlying cause of the problem. Caught in the early stages (with the initial symptoms), homeopathic medicines can help reverse the condition with minimal chances of recurrence. Homeopathic medicines work by managing the acute symptoms that are most troublesome and difficult to bear. They further help manage the condition by minimizing the intensity of pain. These medications are entirely natural, safe and free from any side effects. Homeopathic medications can give long-term relief in cases of trigeminal neuralgia and can enable an individual to have a good quality of life.