If even a slight touch to the lips, nasolabial folds, nose or eyebrows causes a strong attack of pain, it is possible that the facial or trigeminal nerve is jammed. Treatment of neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve can not wait. After all, in addition to the pain that can go into a chronic form, as the disease is neglected, irreversible processes occur in the muscle tissues.
How to treat neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve?
Depending on the cause of the disease, there are differential methods of treating trigeminal neuralgia. First of all, you need to exclude possible infections of the facial area. Caries and sinusitis are some of the most common causes of triggering of the trigeminal nerve. Without the elimination of an infectious focus, further treatment may prove ineffective, and the disease, subsequently, threatens to develop into a chronic pathology. Also among the causes of neuralgia of the facial nerve are:
- severe hypothermia;
- vascular aneurysm in the cranial cavity;
- a brain tumor .
After a detailed examination in a complex of medical procedures, neuralgia is removed, first of all, with the direction to eliminate the pain symptom. By the way, a distinctive "feature" of the neuralgia of the facial nerve is a short-term attack of pain (from 15 seconds to 2 minutes), almost never repeating at night. As an analgesic, it is for this case that carbamazepine is used, a drug that has a long analgesic effect.
As a rule, on the second or third day patients notice a noticeable relief, can painlessly talk and eat. And after 4 weeks of taking an unchanged dose of the drug, it is gradually being reduced. Treatment should continue until a complete absence of painful attacks for 6 months. Pain in trigeminal neuralgia also helps to eliminate phenytoin in a complex admission with baclofen.
Auxiliary therapy for trigeminal neuralgia
In addition to directional drugs, the treatment of neuralgia of the facial nerve is positively affected by physiotherapy. The following procedures proved to be the best:
- ultraphonophoresis;
- dynamic currents;
- galvanization.
Physiotherapeutic treatment, as well as special drugs, is aimed at eliminating pain. They accelerate recovery, allow you to quickly start reducing the doses of potent drugs.
A full-fledged treatment can not do without taking vitamins. With neuralgia of the facial nerve is shown the intake of vitamins of group B, as well as vitamin C.
Operation in trigeminal neuralgia
In spite of the fact that in most cases the disease lends itself to complex medical treatment, there are a number of cases in which the drugs are ineffective in trigeminal neuralgia, or they do not give any result at all. The only solution to the problem is surgical intervention. Among operational methods, there are several individually shown to each particular case:
Decompression of the nerve is an operation that is performed during the aneurysm of the vessels in the cranial cavity. After correction of the vessel, the pressure on the nerve is eliminated.
A less radical method is percutaneous surgery . It is performed under local anesthesia during the initial stages of the disease. Chemicals destroying the nerve are introduced through the catheter to the affected site.
Radiofrequency destruction of the trigeminal nerve root is one of the most modern, effective and safe surgical methods for treating neuralgia. A huge advantage of such an operation is the minimal impact zone. Therefore, recovery after treatment occurs in the shortest possible time.
Folk treatment of trigeminal neuralgia
Like all diseases associated with the nervous system, the trigeminal neuralgia can not be treated without the diagnosis and recommendations of an experienced neurologist. But, nevertheless, there are several ways of people's treatment of this disease. All of them are aimed at
Compresses from the infusion of valerian, melissa and mint tea will be excellent anti-inflammatory and soothing agents. Treatment of neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve by folk remedies, nevertheless, conceals a certain amount of risk. Temporary withdrawal of symptoms without cardinally eliminating them is the shortest path to complications. Therefore, even with a huge desire to do without medications, to undergo a test for the cause of neuralgia, and to get the doctor's advice is the first and most important step in successful treatment.