A Name — And Treatment Options — For Shooting Facial Pain

Monday, December 08, 2003

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Shooting pain in your face stops you cold. It may last for just seconds or up to about a minute. Shooting pains can occur one after another for hours or days at a time, or just a few times a day. The attacks may disappear for weeks, months or years.

These facial pains are symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia (tri-JEM-i-nul noo-RAL-juh), a condition detailed in the December issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter. It's a disorder that affects one of the largest nerves in the head — the trigeminal nerve.

It's not known what causes trigeminal neuralgia. Doctors do know that it's most likely to occur in people who are over age 70. And it's more common in women than men.

There are many treatment options, but no cure. Often, the first line of treatment is medication that reduces or blocks pain. In addition, your doctor could recommend one of several procedures to reduce the pain, including alcohol injections, glycerol injections, electric current treatment or surgical procedures.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Carol Lammers
507-284-5005 (days)
507-284-2511(evenings)
email: newsbureau@mayo.edu

Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville
Erik Kaldor
904-953-2299

Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale
Anne Tewksbury
480-301-4368

Mayo Clinic Health Letter is an eight-page monthly newsletter of reliable, accurate and practical information on today's health and medical news. To subscribe, please call toll free 800-333-9037, extension 9PR1.

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