Trigeminal neuralgia is a continuous pain condition that impacts particular nerves in your face. You may experience pain in cheekbone, sometimes really sharp. You might likewise hear it called “tic douloureux.” Individuals who have this condition state the pain might seem like an electrical shock, and it can sometimes be extreme.
Doctors have treatments that can help, consisting of medication and surgery.
To find out about trigeminal neuralgia, it helps to understand a little about how the afflicted nerves are laid out.
In your head you have 12 pairs of what are called cranial nerves. The trigeminal nerves are among these sets, and they let you feel sensations in your face. One nerve runs down each side of your head.
Each trigeminal nerve divides into three branches, managing the feeling for different parts of your face. They are:
- The ophthalmic branch. It controls your eye, upper eyelid, and forehead.
- The maxillary branch. This affects your lower eyelid, cheek, nostril, upper lip, and upper gum.
- The mandibular branch. It runs your jaw, lower lip, lower gum, and some muscles you use for chewing.
The disorder can impact any of the 3 nerve branches, indicating you might feel pain from your forehead to your jaw. Generally, you’ll feel pain on only one side of your face. Some people feel it on both sides. When that happens, it’s called bilateral trigeminal neuralgia.
Also read: Face Numbness
Symptoms of Pain in Cheekbone
You may feel as though your pain came out of nowhere. Some individuals with this condition start out believing they have an abscessed tooth and go to a dental practitioner.
You may have these symptoms:
- You have short periods of stabbing or shooting pain.
- The pain is set off by things such as brushing your teeth, cleaning your face, shaving, or putting on makeup. Even a light breeze against your face may trigger your pain.
- It lasts a couple of seconds to a number of minutes.
- The attacks happen several times a day or a week, followed by durations during which you have none at all. These pain-free durations are referred to as remission.
- The pain impacts only one side of the face.
- The attacks happen more often over time, and the pain is worse.
- You feel the pain mainly in your cheek, jaw, teeth, gums, and lips. The eyes and forehead are affected less often.
Medical professionals thinks about abrupt and extreme bouts of pain to be signs of “classic” trigeminal neuralgia. If your pain is less extreme however consistent — more of an aching, burning sensation — you might have what’s referred to as “atypical” trigeminal neuralgia.
Some people with this condition also have anxiety due to the fact that they are uncertain when the pain will return.
What Causes Sharp Pain in Cheekbone
This begins with irritation of the trigeminal nerve. You may have a blood vessel continuing the nerve, damaging the protective coating around it, which is called the myelin sheath.
Certain diseases, such as several sclerosis, also can injure the myelin sheath. Sometimes a growth or a tangle of arteries presses on the nerve and may cause sharp or shooting pain in your cheekbone.
Your trigeminal nerve can also be hurt — perhaps by surgery, a mishap, or a stroke.
Who Is More Likely to Get It?
Women are most likely than men to obtain trigeminal neuralgia, and the disease is more common in people older than 50. The condition may run in households, perhaps due to the fact that of how blood vessels are formed in the brain. It may also be linked to high blood pressure.
Although the pain can be extreme, the condition is not dangerous. It can be a progressive disease, though, indicating that it worsens in time.
How Is Pain in Cheekbone Diagnosed?
If you have facial pain — especially feelings that keep returning or don’t respond to non-prescription pain relievers — make a visit with your doctor.
Be all set to tell your doctor about how your pain first appeared, how often you feel it, and what appears to activate it.
Expect your doctor to ask lots of questions about your condition. You may also have a neurological test, where your doctor touches different parts of your face. He can test your reflexes to find out whether a nerve is compressed.
An imaging test such as an MRI can reveal if a growth or several sclerosis is an underlying reason for your problem.
Treatment for Sharp Pain in Cheekbone
You have options to deal with this condition, consisting of medication and surgery.
Medication: Your doctor may recommend medications that keep the nerves from responding to irritation. These drugs are called anticonvulsants.
You likewise might take muscle relaxants — alone or in addition to anticonvulsants. Normal pain medications don’t work well for individuals with trigeminal neuralgia, so your doctor may recommend a tricyclic antidepressant to manage your symptoms.
Surgery: Over time, your medication may assist you less and less. That’s typical amongst individuals with trigeminal neuralgia. If that happens, you have several surgical choices.
A few of these procedures are outpatient, meaning they do not require you to be confessed a medical facility. Some require general anesthesia, which implies you will not be awake during the surgery.
Your doctor can assist you decide which surgery is right for you, based on your overall health, which nerves are included, and your choices.
Treatments include:
- Microvascular decompression, which moves or secures capillary that are impacting the nerve.
- Gamma knife radiosurgery, which uses radiation concentrated on your trigeminal nerve.
- Rhizotomy, which destroys nerve fibers. Doctors have a number of methods to do this.
Also read: Hemifacial Spasm: Symptoms and Treatment
Self-Care Tips
You can explore options ways to help you manage the symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia. These are some you wish to try:
- Acupuncture (a Chinese tradition that uses really thin needles)
- Aromatherapy (the use of plant oils such as peppermint, lavender, etc., to help recovery)
