Pain which is the result of damage to or irritation of a NERVE. The pain tends to be intermittent, occurring in short bursts. It may be very severe and be located along an identifiable nerve. A particular disorder may give rise to neuralgia, MIGRAINE being an example, and HERPES ZOSTER (shingles) another. Neuralgia may also be caused by disturbance to a particular nerve – for instance, trigeminal neuralgia which affects the sensory nerve supplying most of the face.
Treatment
Any obvious underlying cause should be dealt with. Neuralgia may be symptomatically relieved with ANALGESICS. Severe pain may be helped by the analgesic carbamazepine or by destroying (freezing, local alcohol injection or surgery) the affected nerve.