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Neuralgic Pain

Neuralgic pain, also called neuralgia, is pain along the pathway of a nerve or nerves in your body. The pain is normally intermittent, but can be severe. People of any age can experience neuralgic pain, but after age 45 is the most common time to be afflicted.

  1. Causes

    • Causes of neuralgic pain include damage or irritation to a nerve. The causes of damage may include diseases such as diabetes, infections such as shingles or lyme disease, trauma to the nerve and tumors pressing on nearby nerves.

    Symptoms

    • Symptoms of neuralgic pain include pain along the pathway of the affected nerve, sharp stabbing pains that may also feel like a burning pain, weakness in the muscle of the area of the affected nerve and an increased sensitivity to the skin where the affected nerve is located.

    Types

    • There are several types of neuralgic pain. Postherpetic neuralgia is caused by the shingles virus and pain will run along the nerves the virus has attacked, most commonly along the trunk of the body. Trigeminal neuralgia affects the trigeminal nerve that runs from the brain to the face causing pain in the lips, chin, cheeks and gums on one side of the face. Occipital neuralgia pain occurs at the base of the skull and includes tingling and numbness.

    Diagnosis

    • Your doctor performs a physical examination to check muscle mass, trigger points of pain and any strange skin sensations. An MRI will reveal nerve damage or a possible tumor pinching a nerve. A blood test may be taken to check for high blood glucose levels, an indication of diabetes.

    Treatment

    • Treatment for neuralgic pain depends on the location and type of neuralgia. Medications may include antidepressants such as amtriptyline that intercept pain messages from nerves to the brain. Anti-seizure medications such as gabapentine suppress nerve pain. Over the counter medications such as Tylenol and Advil may reduce nerve pain. Injections of corticosteroids into the painful area may provide pain relief and reduce inflammation surrounding the nerve.

    Tips

    • You may be able to avoid painful neuralgic attacks by determining what causes or triggers them. Diabetics should keep strict control of their blood sugar to avoid nerve damage. Antiviral medications taken after diagnosis of shingles may prevent postherpetic neuralgia. Avoid very hot or cold food items or beverages if you have mouth or facial pain as these only irritate already damaged nerves.

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