Nervous Tic / Trigeminal Neuralgia

"When such a topical intermittent infests the head or face, as it often does, there is as exquisite an anguish suffered as from any distemper to which the body is subject, if we may judge by the expressions of it, which are wrung from the most patient tempers." - William Heberden, 1802

Trigeminal Neuralgia or tic douloureux is one of the most painful nervous system disorders that affect the face. Neuralgia is basically an "acute, severe, intermittent pain that radiates along a nerve." The nerve in question here is the trigeminal nerve, which is the fifth cranial nerve and is the chief nerve of the face. It supplies face, jaw, gums, forehead, and area around the eyes. From these areas impulses of touch, pain, pressure, and temperature are sent back to the brain via the nerve. The nerve is bilaterally distributed, meaning that each side of the face has its own trigeminal nerve. In many cases of trigeminal neuralgia only one side of the face is affected, but it is not rare for both sides of the face to be involved in the neuralgia.