Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia
Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer. Car accidents are an inherent risk any time someone gets behind the wheel of the car or sits in the passenger seat. While many accidents are minor and result in no medical injuries, unfortunately some injuries can be severe. When it comes to common car accident injuries, many of these involve nerve damage. Nerve injuries are difficult to deal with because they have numerous causes and can vary widely in severity. One of the most common nerve injuries that result from car accidents is called trigeminal neuralgia. This is a chronic condition that results from damage to the trigeminal nerve. This is a large nerve that innervates most of the face and the symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia can be excruciating
Trigememinal Neuralgia After Vehicular Accidents
Trigeminal neuralgia is a nerve injury that is commonly sustained in vehicular accidents. While the exact mechanism of injury remains one of medicine’s most difficult mysteries, traumatic injury to the trigeminal nerve is undoubtedly one of the most common causes of trigeminal neuralgia. The nerve is not far beneath the surface of the skin on the cheek. During a car accident, people’s heads can collide with windows and steering wheels. Glass can easily penetrate the surface of the skin and lead to damage to this nerve. This can all lead to the chronic condition known as trigeminal neuralgia.
Symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia
Symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia can vary widely from person to person. The one universal symptom is pain. This pain varies in severity and frequently, but will always be described as episodic instances of jabbing, lightning, or shock-like sensations that run down the face and cheek. This pain can be triggered by anything from talking to eating or even brushing the teeth. Every patient will have different triggers, put this pain will have certain triggers and be described as a shock-like sensation that varies in severity from patient to patient. It will also vary from a few seconds to several minutes based on the patient. Finally, the pain will also vary in number of episodes between patients. This variety is what makes the diagnosis challenging.
Diagnosis of Trigeminal Neuralgia
Similar to the symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia, the diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia is challenging. It is largely a clinical diagnosis without any major tests. Doctors will use the description of the symptoms to make the diagnosis. They will ask to describe the pain, the location, and any triggers that cause the pain. The doctor may perform a neurological exam to assess for damage to other nerves or even perform an MRI to look for an actual cause. These are measures only used to diagnose severity or other underlying issues. The diagnosis is clinical.
Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia is one of the most challenging medical conditions to treat because every patient has different symptoms and every patient will respond differently to different medications. First-line treatments include drugs called carbamazepine and lamotrigine. These are only a few of the many medications that are available. If no medication works, the doctor may consider using surgery to sever the trigeminal nerve. This will cause facial numbness, but some people prefer this to the medical condition.
Trigeminal Neuralgia Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer. If you’ve suffered a trigeminal neuralgia injury due to someone else’s negligence, please give me a call at 916-921-6400 or 800-404-5400 for free, friendly advice.
I’ve been helping Northern California residents with their personal injury and wrongful death claims for nearly 34 years.
Million Dollar Advocates Forum
See our client ratings and reviews on Yelp, Avvo and Google.
Take a moment to review the past verdicts and settlements obtained by our auto accident lawyer.
Founder of California’s leading personal injury website: www.autoaccident.com