Trigeminal neuralgia can be classified as Classical and Secondary based on the causation.
Classical TN- No cause found
- Vascular anomaly compressing the nerve might be present
- Refractory period is present
- Caused by underlying lesion other than vascular compression
- Refractory period is absent
- Accompanied by sensory loss of masticator weakness
It is difficult to distinguish between the symptoms of both the category except for the fact that the pain in the secondary (or atypical) type is of somewhat lesser intensity than the classical type.
Common Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia are:
- Sudden sharp paroxysmal pains felt in specific areas of the face are the characteristic Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia.
- In Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia pains can be described as stabbing, shooting, burning, cutting or like electric-shocks.
- In majority cases pains start from the corner of the mouth to the angle of the jaw.
- In some of the cases pain starts from the upper lip or the canine teeth to the eye and the eyebrow.
- In very few rare cases the ophthalmic branch is involved causing pain in the orbit forehead and scalp.
- In Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia attacks usually last to about half a minute and then the pain starts fading away which is followed by a dull burning ache which lasts few minutes.
- Excruciating discomfort felt deep within the face often contorting the patient's facial expressions are the Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia.
- These painful attacks may provoke the patients to grimace, wince or 'turning away the head' movement as if trying to escape from the pain. This becomes an obvious repetitive movement known as a "tic" and hence TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA is also known as "Tic Doulorex".
- The attack is brought on by one of the many triggering factors mentioned in Causes of Trigeminal Neuralgia.
