In layman's terms what is Neuralgia ?? - Trigeminal Neuralgia Message Board

BrianKosh · 07-20-2003, 10:03 PM

How is it treated? as in medications, and how does one get it? I mean can it happen to anyone at anytime or usually an injury of some sort.. Since pain killers rarely work, how is the pain blocked.. how extensive or bad can it become? Since Neuralgia is considered rare, i thought this would be the best place to start with this... Can anyone help?

MelissaH · 07-21-2003, 09:58 PM

You have to specify which type of neuralgia. I know of Trigeminal neuralgia. Its a disorder of the fifth cranial nerve that causes episodes of intense, stabbing, electric shock-like pain in the areas of the face where the branches of the nerve are distributed - lips, eyes, nose, scalp, forehead, upper jaw, and lower jaw.

zuzu8 · 07-25-2003, 01:01 PM

Melissa is right about trigeminal neuralgia.
Basically, in the simplest terms, neuralgia means "nerve pain".....
It is pain caused by nerve damage or irritation. The pain is typically intense and episodic, and often felt along the course of the affected nerve.

Since our bodies have millions of sensory nerves, one can have neuralgia pain anywhere in the body (face, arms, legs, back, head, neck, mouth and teeth, literally anywhere...) when these nerves are damaged or traumatized.

Here is a link to a great website called MEDLINE (approved to post here by the Moderators). Lots of info about diseases, drugs, resources of all kinds. They even have a dictionary and encyclopedia for medical terms.
Check it out...I'm linking you to main page on Neuralgia and you'll see many more links about the different kinds of neuralgia and nerve pain from there:
[url="http://search.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/query?DISAMBIGUATION=true&FUNCTION=searc h&SERVER2=server2&SERVER1=server1&PARAME TER=neuralgia&x=22&y=8"]http://search.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/query?DISAMBIGUATION=true&FUNCTION=searc h&SERVER2=server2&SERVER1=server1&PARAME TER=neuralgia&x=22&y=8[/url]

Good luck,

zuzu

projapoti · 07-28-2003, 09:19 AM

...a small lesson in medical language. If you ever see "algia" at the end of a word, it means pain. So you've had the explanation of "neuralgia" but:

otalgia = ear pain
myalgia (fibromyalgia) = muscle pain
ophthalmalgia = eye pain
gastralgia = stomach pain

and so on...

09-10-2003, 07:29 PM

Just a quick old fashioned tip for anyone with neuralgia in the face.... something sadly I get from time to time.

Eat a slice of crusty bread.

My grandad swore by this and my uncle said it to me and I laughed at the idea of it (he gets it as well) and I couldn't believe it... it actually made the pain go away!

The only pain killing drug that has ever helped me is ibuprofen.. sadly not everyone can take this though. I shouldn't as I'm asthmatic, but it takes the pain away for me. Usually one dose and I don't need anymore.