What is the cause for trigeminal neuralgia?
Trigeminal neuralgia is due to the erratic transmission of signals in the damaged trigeminal nerve. The damage can be caused by compression of a blood vessel on the trigeminal nerve, or a brain tumor causing pressure on the nerve or conditions like multiple sclerosis. In about 2000 cases of trigeminal neuralgia in one study 16 patients had brain tumor. What are the triggering factors for trigeminal neuralgia? The characteristic feature of trigeminal neuralgia is the initiation of pain by stimulation of certain areas of the face, lips , gums as in shaving or brushing the teeth or by movements of these parts in chewing ,talking, or yawning-the so called trigger zones. The pain is can also be induced by environmental factors like cold air. How can you diagnose trigeminal neuralgia? Trigeminal neuralgia can be diagnosed based on the symptoms of the patients only and it needs good history taking by the physician. Imaging studies like Magnetic resonance imaging, CT scan of the brain will usu
