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Symptoms of Trigeminal neuralgia

The nerve discharges cause episodes of excruciating stabbing pain in the cheek, lips, gums, chin or tongue, lasting for only a few seconds or, at the most, a minute or two. The severity of the pain causes the muscles of the face to wince, hence the earlier name of tic douloureux (‘painful tic’).

A feature of the condition is that it may be brought on by touching a particular part of the face or any other area supplied by the trigeminal nerve, such as the lips, gums or tongue. It may thus be triggered by chewing, swallowing or even speaking.

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