A terrible pain in the temporal and superciliary areas: the trigeminal nerve

In my youth I had a period when I was terribly tormented by sudden pain in the brow and temporal areas on the left side of the face. The pain came almost suddenly, and after a while (very short) it became simply awful - it hurt not only the temple and forehead, but started to give and to the eye, from somewhere inside. I took a handful of painkillers, but not always helped, only if you have time to drink a pill right at the beginning, otherwise an hour or more of the pain sensation did not pass. Since there was a graduation class, and further it was necessary to prepare for entering the university, the visual and mental loads, of course, were elevated, and I wrote off all this.

If an attack of pain caught me at home, then, after drinking a pill, I just lay down and covered my head with a pillow, not knowing how to ease this pain, which at times was so strong that not only did the tears welling up, but I just wanted to scream. I also noticed that when I applied my palm to the painful place (always at these moments I wanted to press the palm to the closed eye with an occlusive eyebrow), it seemed that it became a bit easier - that is, dry heat (maybe that's why I stuffed my head under the pillow ).

Until the pain was rare enough, I refused to go to the doctor, but when they began to be repeated every day, and sometimes several times a day, I had to go to the clinic. However on survey at the oculist at me nothing have revealed concerning an eye, and have sent further to the neuropathologist. That's when I first heard that I most likely had a trigeminal nerve.

What is the trigeminal nerve?

The triple nerve is one of twelve paired cranial nerves (more precisely, the fifth), they are located on both sides of the face (one on the right, the other on the left in the temporal region) and each of them further branches into three branches. One of the branches (upper) affects the sensitivity of the frontal region, the upper eyelid and the eye - the so-called ocular nerve. The next branch - the maxillary (malar) nerve - approaches the lower eyelid, cheeks, nostril and reaches the upper lip and upper gum. The third - the mandibular nerve - leads to the lower jaw, lower lip, gums and some chewing muscles.

The pain is manifested, as a rule, on one side - in the upper, middle or lower part of the face, and depend on which branch of the trigeminal nerve is affected.

The irritated trigeminal nerve of pain causes terrible, it is true, but, nevertheless, in each case it is necessary to understand individually. This may be neuralgia, neuritis, and inflammation of the trigeminal nerve, and may be caused by another disease that indirectly affects the affected area, so to say exactly what the trigeminal nerve hurts sometimes is difficult even for doctors.

Very often, when the pain begins in the upper or lower jaw, a person thinks that it is associated with the teeth, goes to the dentist, heals the teeth, but the therapy does not relieve the pain.

Now doctors often suggest doing an MRI of the brain with a vascular program to better understand the causes of the pain.

In some cases, when the nerve is squeezed by the artery, surgery is shown - the so-called decompression of the trigeminal nerve (i.e., elimination of the constant compressive factor).

Then, more than 20 years ago, I, along with the drug therapy, prescribed physio treatment. Pain for a while became less frequent, but finally went far not immediately. While studying at the institute, I still periodically experienced sudden seizures, and even went on acupuncture. Until now, I'm wondering what kind of a disease it was (because the doctors did not end the final verdict), but after a while the pains stopped as if by themselves. But how can I remember what I had to experience then - the enemy does not want to!

A lot of people write that fir oil helps to relieve pain. A few drops should be mixed with baby cream and lubricate this compound with a sore spot. Ostensibly helps in many cases, and with inflammation of the trigeminal nerve, pain disappears almost in 2 weeks. Perhaps, if there are no contraindications to the use of fir oil, then it is possible to try it on occasion, although I think that if the pains are permanent, it is better to go to the examination to clarify the diagnosis.

Take care of yourself and be well!