Essay Sample on Caring for Those with Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Look at the Medical Sector

Introduction

The medical sector all over the world is working actively and restlessly to take care of patients and save lives no matter the difficulty of conditions and is a very important aspect of society. Diseases and conditions cause discomfort as they alter the normal functioning of the body, and such a condition is trigeminal neuralgia. Trigeminal means the three divisions in the face where the trigeminal nerves that arise directly from the brain transmit signals. The condition trigeminal neuralgia is extreme pain along the nerve of a section or all divisions of the trigeminal nerves. Treatment involves issuing medicines that prevent more and reduce the impact of irregular movements in a part of the body called anticonvulsants. Nerve pain medicines are offered via injection and medication, while in other cases, surgeries are performed as treatment.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The trigeminal nerve located in the face region of the human body has its major function to pass on senses from the brain to the face. Through them, the face can detect touch, unusual and irregular pain, and change in temperature subjected to the skin of the face. The trigeminal nerve, as stated earlier, has three divisions to enable coverage of the whole face. Functions like chewing and biting are made possible by the nerve, which makes its' vitality increase. When the trigeminal nerve is damaged, the face experiences numbness as it loses the ability to sense, and to some extent, it causes sharp pains that could repeat their occurrence after a significant period.

Each section of the trigeminal nerve is slightly different from the other. Trigeminal nerve can be a source of so much pain when a vein or artery presses it, or it undergoes irritation. This kind of occurrence would make the affected patient wish that the nerve had been absent, and this would lead to surgeries to see to its alteration.

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN), the pain along the nerves vanishes and resurfaces after some time like five years or a bit longer. The pain is either sharp and severe or a bit less painful but causes great discomfort. It occurs when the blood vessels are pressed against the roots of the trigeminal nerve and if it is damaged or irritated by another condition occurring around its location and in the face like tumors or stroke. At times the cause of the condition is unidentifiable. Typical trigeminal neuralgia occurs on one side as a burning sensation or aching than sharp pain. One type of TN is the sharp pain that disappears and recurs later on, and the other type is of continuous pain that lasts for a short time before reducing or stopping. It is noted that the condition does not occur when the person is asleep, indicating that activeness of the sensory nerves causes the noticing of the condition (Dexter & Aggarwal, 2018). A person experiencing the pain opts to reduce movements triggering TN like they opt to avoid eating, leading to loss of weight.

With a time of the disease occurrence, it could spread to the other divisions if it first occurred in one division. This also means that if it is controlled, then recurs after years; it comes back as a worse attack than the initial one. Such patients are advised to keep a record in case it resurfaces for ease of handling it medically. TN is common to over 50 years aged adults and merely occurs among younger persons (Santos et al., 2017). Females are more prone to it more than the males of that estimated possible occurrence age. Diagnosis and recognition are mostly via Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which detects changes in the trigeminal nerve. MRI scan does not show the exact cause of nerve irritation but may help notice other conditions with the same characteristics as tooth decay. When the attacks take place, pain usually ends completely after a brief timing.

Treatment of TN is either via medication, injections, or surgery. The methods differ according to their effects and impacts on those that undergo any of them. Patients may just go through one attack. Treatment like surgery occurs after drug treatments fail or if the affected opt for it due to various reasons (Maarbjerg, Di Stefano, Bendtsen & Cruccu, 2017). The surgical version is related to loss of facial sensation, almost no risk, and at times death. Other times a high rate of pain resurface is noticed among the patients. Treatment also varies according to some factors which ensure the correct form of treatment is given. Description of pain is according to the location experienced, the type of pain, whether sudden and brief or constant, and the triggers such as eating or touch of the part or physical injury. Anticonvulsants, as mentioned earlier in the text, are the best medication, and they also have side effects.

Dental hygienists should know the symptoms, the cause, and how to best notice TN. One reason is that dental surgery might trigger TN. Dentists should also have a prior and tested knowledge on TN because some dental formula symptoms are very similar to TN, and wrong approaches to treat could lead to an increase in the felt impacts of TN and severity in the condition. They should be able to carry out tests of the possibility of TN if related pain is explained, like testing effects of hot and cold temperatures. Lack of the conditions knowledge by dentists could lead to practices such as extraction of teeth unnecessarily to their patients or worse procedures.

No condition is desirable if it causes pain and a change in the normality of the human body. TN should be carefully handled among other complex conditions to restore happiness and comfort. Medical teams should be highly regarded and appreciated by society for their continued research and dedication to maintain life and at its best. Medicine advancement and progress requires support by society for improved attention.

References

Dexter, M., & Aggarwal, A. (2018). Medical, pharmacological and neurosurgical perspectives on trigeminal neuralgia. Australian Endodontic Journal, 44(2), 136-147.

Maarbjerg, S., Di Stefano, G., Bendtsen, L., & Cruccu, G. (2017). Trigeminal neuralgia-diagnosis and treatment. Cephalalgia, 37(7), 648-657.

Santos, M. M., Freire, A. R., Rossi, A. C., Prado, F. B., Caria, P. H. F., & Botacin, P. R. (2017). Trigeminal neuralgia: literature review. Journal of Morphological Sciences, 30(1), 0-0.