Essay Example on Trigeminal Neuralgia: Chronic Facial Pain & its Causes

Trigeminal Nerve Damage causes a condition known as Trigeminal neuralgia. This condition entails a lingering pain that affects the trigeminal nerves. The trigeminal nerve's primary role is conveying sensations from the face to the brain. When a person is suffering from this chronic condition, even slight stimulation of face such as putting on make-up or brushing the teeth triggers a jolt of sharp pain. At first, one may experience mild and short attacks. However, the trigeminal neuralgia condition might progress and lead to long, frequent bouts of searing pain. Research shows that women are more affected by Trigeminal neuralgia compared to men. Besides, people aged over 50 years have higher chances of being affected by this condition. There exist various treatment options, and experiencing trigeminal neuralgia does not mean that you are doomed to suffer a life of pain. Doctors have multiple ways of efficiently managing trigeminal neuralgia through injection, medications, or surgery.

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The trigeminal nerve has various functions in the body. The trigeminal nerve is the biggest among the 12 cranial nerves. Its primary purpose is to transmit sensory information to the sinus, skin, and mucous membrane to the face. Also, the nerve stimulates various movements in the jaw muscles. As earlier stated, the trigeminal nerve offers both motor and sensory innervation to the face. Specifically, the sensory information provided by this nerve encompasses temperature, pain, and touch (Miloro, 2013). This sensory information is relayed through nuclei of the thalamus and central trigeminal nucleus before it is transmitted to the synapses and cerebral cortex in the postcentral gyrus. The trigeminal nerve is divided into three divisions, and each of them has a specific different function. The first division is an ophthalmic nerve (V1) which its primary responsibility is sensory innervation of the scalp and face above the orbits. Besides, this division has sympathetic nerve fibers, which helps in pupil dilation and supplying the cornea, conjunctiva, lacrimal gland, iris, and ciliary body. The other division is a maxillary nerve (V2), which is also a sensory branch, and it supplies the part just above the mouth and below the orbits. These parts comprise of the inferior portion of the maxillary sinus, maxillary teeth, and nasal cavity. The final division is a mandibular nerve (V3), which is the only branch of the nerve that comprises both motor and sensory components (Zakrzewska & Association., 2006). The sensory part is responsible for temperature and pain relays from the tongue, buccal mucosa, mandibular teeth, and face below maxillary nerve territory.

There exist two potential nerve damage, which are primary trigeminal neuralgia and secondary trigeminal neuralgia. The precise cause of trigeminal neuralgia is unknown; however, it's often thought to be a result of compressing the trigeminal nerve or a medical condition, which has an adverse effect on the nerve. In the primary trigeminal neuralgia, research shows that 95% of its cases are as a result of pressure on the trigeminal nerve that is near to the part where it enters the brain stem (Rath, 2019). In most of the cases, the pressure is led by a vein or artery squeezing the trigeminal nerve. These are blood vessels that happen to be close with the nerve at the specifically sensitive area. It has never been clear why this pressure causes painful attacks and damage to some people but not the others since research shows that not every person having compressed trigeminal nerve experiences pain. In terms of secondary trigeminal neuralgia, nerve damage is caused by other medical problems or medical conditions. These medical conditions include facial injury, multiple sclerosis, arteriovenous malformation, cysts, tumor, and damage brought by surgery.

Just like any other condition, Trigeminal nerve damage also has treatment. Its treatment begins with medications, and in different cases, individuals do not require any further treatment. Nevertheless, over time, some patients experiencing the disorder may stop reacting to the medication treatment or suffer from adverse side effects. As a result, these people are provided with other trigeminal neuralgia treatment options such as surgery or injections. One of the medications prescribed by the doctor is anticonvulsants. However, if the anticonvulsant does not work or start losing its efficiency, the doctor might switch to another type or increase the dosage. The anticonvulsants have side effects such as nausea, drowsiness, confusion, and dizziness. In case the medications fail to help, the doctor prescribes Botox injections. Research shows that the injections reduce the pain of people experiencing the condition (Robert, Bacchetti, & Pogrel, 2005). Nonetheless, this treatment requires additional research before its extensive usage is recommended. In extreme cases, surgery medication is prescribed. One of the surgery options is microvascular decompression, which entails removing or relocating blood vessels that are in contact with the trigeminal nerve to avoid malfunction. The other surgery option is Brain Stereotactic radiosurgery, whereby a neurosurgeon guides a focused dosage of radiation to the trigeminal nerve roots. This method applies radiation emissions to eliminate or reduce pain by damaging the trigeminal nerve though it has a side effect of facial numbness.

Conclusion

In conclusion, trigeminal nerve damage is a condition that can affect anyone. This condition is a result of the pressure of blood vessels on the trigeminal nerve causing sharp pain. This condition should be treated immediately since the nerve affected transmits sensory information to the sinus, skin, and mucous membrane to the face. To sum up, there are various treatments for this condition. Medications are the most common, but in severe cases, surgery is the most effective.

References

Miloro, M. (2013). Trigeminal nerve injuries. Berlin; New York: Springer.

Rath, G. P. (2019). Handbook of trigeminal neuralgia. Singapore: Springer.

Robert, R., Bacchetti, P., & Pogrel, A. (2005). Frequency of Trigeminal Nerve Injuries Following Third Molar Removal. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 732-735.

Zakrzewska, J. M., & Association., T. N. (2006). Insights: facts and stories behind trigeminal neuralgia. Gainesville, Fla.: Trigeminal Neuralgia Association.