FACIAL NEURALGIA, a painful affec tion involving the chief sensory nerve of the Lee; the trigeminal or fifth nerve. This neu ralgia may involve any of the branches and, because of their wide distribution over the shoulder, back of the neck, scalp and face may be felt in a number of locations. Very fre quently the pain is in the jaw and is due to dis eased teeth, toothache being a form of neu ralgia of this nerve.
The pain may radiate from over the orbit, constituting supra-orbital neuralgia, or it may be distributed over the back of the head, con stituting occipital neuralgia. Occasionally neu ralgia of the fifth nerve gives rise to typical attacks of sick-headache. A particular variety which is extremely severe and is supposably due to disease of the sensory ganglia of the fifth nerve is known as tic-douloureux. Characteris tic features of neuralgias of the face are the sudden shooting, darting pains, usually one sided, unaccompanied with other constitutional disturbances. The cause is most frequently ex
posure to cold. From riding on the tops of omnibuses, sitting by the open windows of rail road cars, or by any open window with a draft blowing through, persons are very frequently affected. At times anaemia, gout and infection from bad teeth occasion facial neuralgia.
Treatment will depend largely upon the ex citing cause. Heat, gentle massage, simple diet and free movements of the bowels are general measures to be carried out. Occasional surgical intervention is necessary to cure tic-douloureux. The medical treatment of neuralgias of the face is technical and involves the use of remedies that are dangerous in the hands of laymen.