What is Neuralgia?

Neuralgia comes from the Latin words neur (= nerve) and algia = pain.

A head (or cranial) neuralgia is a severe headache due to pain derived from damage or irritation to

1. a nerve within the skull
e.g.
• trigeminal nerve, causing severe facial pain
• nervus intermedius, causing severe bouts of ear pain
• glossopharyngeal nerve, causing severe pain triggered by swallowing
or
2. a surface nerve within the scalp (epicranial neuralgias)
• occipital nerve
• supraorbital nerve
• infraorbital nerve

They quality of pain in neuralgia is severe, shooting and sharp. It is usually very brief, excruciating and intense. Some pains are triggered by touch or pressure on the nerve, and in the epicranial neuralgias the diagnosis is made by pressing the suspect nerve to see if it is excessively tender or sensitive.

A list of neuralgias which cause severe headache:

1. Occipital Neuralgia
These are usually located at the back of the head.
2. Trigeminal Neuralgia
An intense, severe sharp, electric-shock like pain in the cheek or jaw, triggered by touch, chewing or exposure to a breeze.
3. Supraorbital Neuralgia
Can be associated with wearing tight helmets, goggles or other swim-wear!
4. Infraorbital Neuralgia
5. Nervus Intermedius Neuralgia
This causes intense ear pain and may respond to Tegretol medication.
6. Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia
Intense throat pain triggered by swallowing
7. Post-herpetic Neuralgia
This is a severe, often burning pain in an area of skin affected by shingles.

These are all referable to anatomically defined nerves. This is distinct from ice-pick pains, which usually do not respect the territory of any single nerve.



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