Pain disorders and complaints of intense or widespread pain in a certain part of the body; It is one of the important health problems that negatively affect daily life. Severe pain, especially concentrated in certain parts of the body and one of the most important examples of which is trigeminal neuralgia, can become unbearable. The solution to these problems is primarily dependent on knowing why these pains occur and taking appropriate measures for the causes.
What is Neuralgia?
Neuralgia; It is the feeling of severe pain in the form of burning, stinging or electric shock sensation originating from the nerve tissue as a result of the destruction or damage of our nerve tissues spread to certain areas in our body. In this sense, it can be seen in any part of the body, depending on the injury of any nerve tissue. Trigeminal neuralgia, which develops due to damage to the trigeminal nerve responsible for the sense of touch of the facial region, is one of the most common neuralgias in the clinic. There are factors that cause or directly destroy it. In this sense, the health problems that may cause neuralgia can be summarized as follows:
- Aging: With advanced age, the nerve tissue begins to lose its former vitality and may cause neuralgia due to the destructions it has suffered over time.
- Trauma: Surgical operations or externally Neuralgia may develop as a result of damage to the nerve tissue due to blunt traumas.
- Diabetes: One of the important effects of diabetes is the loss of function of nerve tissues due to high blood sugar. Neuralgia may be observed in some neurological diseases that result in direct damage to the nerve tissues.
- Infections: Viral infections such as herpes (herpes), chickenpox (shingles) or serious infections such as HIV/AIDS and syphilis Neuralgia can be seen as a result of damage to the inner tissues. Nerve cells can be damaged due to the accumulation of toxic substances in the body in chronic diseases. tissue irritation may result in neuralgia.
What are the Types of Neuralgia?
Although neuralgia can develop in any nerve tissue in the body, in the clinic, especially a few nerve tissues are damaged. As a result, neuralgia is more common. These disorders can be summarized as follows:
Trigeminal neuralgia
The trigeminal nerve, which transmits the sense of touch to the brain, is dominant in the entire face. In this direction, after the trigeminal nerve leaves the brain stem, it divides into three main branches and spreads to the forehead, upper jaw and lower jaw regions of the face. As a result of damage to this nerve as a result of various factors, a series of symptoms that will seriously affect daily life occur. These symptoms can be listed as follows:
- The complaint of severe pain in the form of severe burning, stinging or electric shock in one half of the face is observed.
- Pain attacks such as touching the face, chewing, brushing teeth, putting on makeup or talking can be triggered by behavior. In addition, neuralgia attacks may occur when the face is tense or aroused, such as taking very hot or cold foods, hitting the face with cool or hot air, sniffing or smiling.
- Attacks can be observed more than once a day or a week. There are pain-free periods between attacks.
- The frequency of attacks may increase over time and the resulting pain may intensify.
- The pain starts from a specific area on one half of the face (for example, forehead, cheek, jaw or teeth). ).
- In some cases, the pain may be severe and sudden in attacks, while some patients may experience less severe but continuous pain. may feel burning or discomfort in the area where the pain occurs.
- Involuntary contractions may occur in the face after a painful attack.
Again, the presence of trigeminal neuralgia in family members may be a risk factor for first-degree relatives. In addition, many patients with trigeminal neuralgia suffer from anxiety disorders due to painful attacks. severe pain occurs. As a result of chickenpox infection in childhood, the virus continues to exist in an inactive form by hiding in the nerve tissues. Afterwards, in various situations where the body's immune resistance decreases (drug therapy, intense stress, some chronic diseases, etc.), the virus reactivates and causes damage to the nervous tissue. causes redness, rashes and severe pain observed along the nerve tissue. It is distinctive that it is observed only in one half of the body and limited to the nerve tissue it affects. Since an infectious microorganism causes damage to the nerve tissue on the basis of postherpetic neuralgia, in addition to controlling the pain with painkillers, the prescription of antiviral drugs to treat the infection also plays an important role in the treatment.
Glossopharyngeal neuralgia
It manifests itself with complaints of pain in the throat, pharynx and neck, especially as a result of damage to the glossopharyngeal nerve, which is responsible for the sensation of the posterior part where the oral cavity joins the pharynx. It is observed less frequently than other types of neuralgia.
How to Treat Neuralgia?
The basis of neuralgia treatment is below. determining the underlying cause and designing the appropriate treatment plan for the type of neuralgia. Accordingly, in the clinic, first of all, after a detailed history and physical examination, additional tests are applied to determine the cause. Treatment for the identified cause is started. If a specific cause cannot be found, symptomatic treatment for the relief of neuralgia is preferred.
If there is an anatomical formation causing compression on the nerve, neuralgia surgery is considered. Control of blood sugar is aimed in neuralgias due to high blood sugar in diabetes. In neuralgias due to drugs or chemicals, precautions are taken to avoid the active substance. Symptomatically, first of all, strong painkillers are prescribed. In addition, physical therapy methods are used to accelerate the healing of nerve tissue and relieve pain. In severe neuralgia, pain is relieved by directly applying nerve block to the nerve tissue with anesthetic drugs. If necessary, antidepressants with analgesic effects, narcotic pain relievers or antiepileptic drugs that regulate nerve tissue can also be added to the treatment. In cases with severe pain that do not respond to treatment, surgical interventions may be considered to reduce the pain sensation function by destroying the nerve tissue that causes pain.
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