Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN), also known as Tic Douloureux, is considered by many to be the "most terrible pain known to man." The electric shock-like pain generally is on one side of the face and is spasmodic, coming in short bursts lasting a few seconds. Several attacks can follow each other within minutes. There are often trigger points, places on the face which, if touched, trigger an attack.. Eating, shaving, applying makeup and talking can be triggers. There can be periods of remission when pain is completely absent. These periods of remission, which can last days, weeks, months, even years, are unpredictable and without medical treatment, the pain usually returns.

TN is a very rare condition. Statistics vary, but TN occurs in approximately 150 per million people per year. Medical literature notes this condition is rare for anyone under age 50 but in reality, TN is known to exist in many younger individuals including children.

Trigeminal Neuralgia was described as early as the first century A.D. in the writings of Aretaeus.. Early treatments included bloodletting and bandages containing poisons such as arsenic, mercury, hemlock, cobra and bee venom. An 18th century French surgeon, Nicolaus Andre coined the condition "Tic Douloureux," which means "painful spasm."

Several syndromes are closely related to TN, but have specific unique features as well. These include post-herpetic neuralgia, atypical facial pain (ATFP), and TN resulting from multiple sclerosis (MS). Although the distinctions tend to be fluid, these are discussed separately.

There are some relatively effective treatments for TN. Unfortunately, although some of the treatments are becoming standard, there is no single treatment that is effective for all victims.

A SHORT ANATOMY LESSON
Trigeminal Neuralgia is a disorder of the trigeminal nerve, one of twelve pairs of cranial nerves on each side of the head.

The cranial nerves control movement and sense pressure, touch, pain and temperature in the head and neck. These twelve cranial nerves are numbered from 1 to 12 using Roman numerals - e.g. I II III IV V VI VII etc..

You have two trigeminal nerves, one on the right side of your head and one on the left. The trigeminal nerve, the largest cranial nerve can be seen here.

Since the trigeminal nerve is the fifth cranial nerve, it is referred to as "V" in medical literature. The word "trigeminal" derives from the Latin word "tria" which means "three" and from "geminus" which means "twin" and refers to the fact that the trigeminal nerve has three distinct branches on each side of the head. These branches are referred to as V1, V2, and V3. The following table lists these branches and describes what areas each branch affects.