How to Identify Neuralgia

Neuralgia is an extremely painful nerve disorder that causes sharp and burning pain, mostly in the face. Although the pain does not usually last long, it is severe, and is the sign of an underlying problem that needs to be diagnosed and treated by a health care professional. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Postherpetic Neuralgia

• 1

  Monitor the location where you once had shingles to see if you are having feelings of intense pain there. This does not have to be on the face. It can be anywhere on the body where the shingles were.

• 2

  Watch for an unbearable sensitivity to being touched, especially barely being touched.

• 3

  Check the time span for having severe pain and sensitivity at the site of the shingles. This pain could go on for months or years.

• 4

  Watch for depression that stems from the pain and from not being able to socialize or be around other people as much.

Trigeminal Neuralgia

• 5

  Note sensations like stabbing, stinging and sharp pain on one side of your face similar to that of an electric shock.

• 6

  Monitor pain that occurs in spasms. You will have short occurrences of pain that lasts just a few seconds each.

• 7

  Be alert if you have pain that seems to be triggered by shaving, eating, talking, or touching the face.

• 8

  Monitor the length of time that you have had the pain in your face. It could last for days, weeks or months.

Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia

• 9

  Watch for severe pain at the back of your tongue, in your throat and in your ear.

• 10

  Check to see if the pain began suddenly.

• 11

  Note pain that occurs after eating, talking or swallowing (particularly very cold foods like ice cream).

Occipital Neuralgia

• 12

  Be alert to feelings of pain, tingling and numbness over half of the base of your skull.

• 13

  Watch for a stabbing headache.

• 14

  Monitor any pain caused by a pinched occipital nerve as a result of anything from a head injury to arthritis.