What is it?

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a chronic pain disorder of the trigeminal nerve. TN often appears suddenly as a sharp, shooting, lightning-like pain lasting a few seconds up to several minutes. You may have TN pain once during the day or have a series of painful attacks that occur one after the other. People with TN are often unable to shave, comb their hair or touch their face because they are afraid they might trigger pain. Although it is a rare condition, TN is probably the most common cause of severe facial pain and one of the most painful disorders known. TN is also called “tic douloureux.”

The trigeminal nerve supplies sensation to the face, mouth, and the front half of the scalp and controls the muscles used for chewing. There is one trigeminal nerve on the right side of your face and one on the left. Each trigeminal nerve has three branches. You can have TN pain in one or more of the nerve branches. TN more commonly occurs in the middle and/or lower branches of the trigeminal nerve.

Learn more about the trigeminal nerve

The three branches of the trigeminal nerve carry sensations of touch, pain, temperature, and movement from the face and mouth to the brain. They join together at the base of the skull bone in an area called the trigeminal or Gasserian ganglion. From there, the main trigeminal nerve root enters the brain in an area of the brainstem called the pons.

Who is Affected?

Age – TN most often affects people between 50 and 70 years of age, but it can occur in younger adults and children.

Gender – Women have TN almost twice as often as men.

Other family members with TN – A small number of TN patients (1-5%) have other family members with TN. Some researchers think that TN could be genetic in a small number of people.

Certain medical conditions – Trigeminal neuralgia occurs in about 1% of people who have multiple sclerosis (MS). In rare cases, TN is the first symptom of MS. A health care provider may suspect MS if the person has TN on both sides of the face and the eye, forehead, and the front part of the nose are affected. Rarely, TN can occur due to nerve compression by a tumor or an aneurysm.