Severe pains that are burning or shooting that comes from facial nerves that come out near the lips, gums, or cheeks. It involves the face, scalp, teeth, nose, ears and other areas.
There are six specific spots where the facial nerves come out of the skull. There are pain points. Two of those points are in the eyebrows, two others are on either side of the nose, just above the wings. The other two are in the middle of the chin, next to on another. The pain is generally worse form cold or feels cold.
Symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia include: various pains that are burning, sharp, stabbing, dull, or aching. It can be jaw tenderness and in some cases pain in the mouth of the lips, gums, teeth or cheeks. Symptoms can be worse from chewing, heat, cold, exposure to cold winds. Always get medical advise to rule out other problems.
Pains come in short bursts or can be continuous. The pains can be all over in specific areas or even wander around. Multiple Sclerosis increases the chances of getting it. Pain attacks can be random and can be from o a couple of minutes to continuous pain. Pains can be triggered by the skin. Facial expression or even moving the face.
Causes are generally unknown. Modern medicine uses drugs that treat the nerves, inflammation and muscles. With moderate results and many side effects, they often turn to cutting or severing the nerves that cause the pain. Surgery may soothe pains but cause numbness, other problems, or even more pain.
Natural medicine looks at trigeminal neuralgia as a problems with nerves as a result of mineral deficiencies, stress or unknown physical causes. The goal is to calm the nerves, relieve stress that will lead to pain relief.
Nutrition is important to remove nutritional stressors such as tobacco, alcohol, coffee, black tea and sodas as a start.
Nerve health can be increased nutritionally by using food-based B-Complex vitamins from New Chapter, Megafood or Garden of Life.
Also use Magnesium, increasing the dosage just up to diarrhea, to feed the nerves
Herbs for Face Pain
Herbs are plants valued for their specific strengthening/ tonifying properties.
St. John’s wort – to calm nerves and helps depression. Do not take with some anti-depressants.
Jamaican dogwood tincture – pain, neuralgia
Cramp bark – to relax muscles, especially when the muscles cramp up with pain
Wood betony – for pain and inflammation
Other options include:
California poppy is a mild pain reliever and can be good for nervous agitation. It is also a sedative for sleep. It is anti-spasmodic and for digestive spasms.
Corydalis is a diffusive and a pain reliever. This has been used by many cultures for muscles.
Passion Flower is a powerful nervine (nerve restorer and calmer) for when you can’t turn off your mind. It helps on stress headaches and also muscular tension.
Lobelia increases circulation, relaxes muscle and respiratory spasms.
Prickly Ash bark is known as an immuno-modulator (immune balancer), for loss of sensitivity of the nerves.
Blue Vervain as a nervine.
Chamomile as an anti-inflammatory and digestive aid.
Cell Salts to Help Face Pain
To make a cell salt solution, put up to 10 tablets of each cell salt in a 16- to 24-ounce bottle; fill with water and swirl to dissolve tablets. Sip throughout the day.
#4 Ferr phos 6X – to help inflammation
#6 Kali phos 6X – feeds nerves
#8 Mag phos 6X – nerve pain, shooting painsUse Biochemic phosphates to help rebuild nerves.
Face Pain Homeopathic Remedies
Homeopathic remedies are non-toxic natural medicines safe for everyone including infants and pregnant or nursing women. You may use 6X, 30X, 6C or 30C potencies.
Most important:
Agaricus – milder form of facial twitching with numbness and tingling; muscular twitching, or hot-cold needles; left side; contortions of muscles.
Belladonna – right-sided; dilated pupils, flushed face; grimace; pain comes and goes quickly; pressure, stabbing pain comes and goes in a few seconds; cycles every few seconds (Calc carb when chronic).
Dulcamara – face ache with skin problems and respiratory issues. Tendency to cold sores.; worse form slightest exposure to cold.
Kalmia – neuralgia after shingles; right-sided; numbness of face; sharp and tearing pains in bones of jaws and face; rheumatic remedy.
Magnesia phos – right-sided with burning and sharp shooting pains (electric-like shocks). Also muscle cramps. Pains wander and change location. Better from pressure and warmth; worse from cold.
Mezereum – left-sided. Violent neuralgia about face and teeth to ear. Worse eating; better from heat.
Spigelia – left-sided. Pains about the eyes, cheeks, teeth, and temples; also with left-sided migraines; especially for acute severe pains of the left eyeball and teeth; like wires turned off and on in the face (hot and cold electricity); grimacing. There is light sensitivity and eyelid cramps. The area is red. Worse movement.
Thuja – more left-sided with skin problems and abnormal growths; boring pains on left malar bones; face aches; burning heat and redness of face.
Other helpful remedies:
Arsenicum album – tearing, needle-like pains, burning stinging pains as from red hot needles. Twitching of facial muscles. Worse at night or cold air; better form hot or warm applications.
Capsicum annum – pain is piercing and burning or stabbing. Pains may radiate to the ears or upper molars. Pains worse from eating, pressure and air drafts.
Chelidonium majus – for right-sided migraines especially of the first or second branch of the trigeminal nerves. The eye tears up easily with ciliary muscle involvement. There is also a reeling of pressure on eye orbit.
Coffea cruda – worse at nights and nervous stress. Mind is overactive. Toothache pain improved with cold water.
Colocynthis – face distorted from pain. Worse left side, tearing, shooting and swelling of face. Soreness relieved by pressure. Also feels chilly.
Hypericum – suffering look on face. Intense itching; tension, tearing on left side of cheek; facial neuralgia and toothache; mostly right-sided; shooting or eclectic pains.
Mezereum – facial muscles drawn tight, stolen burning pains and some blisters or pimples or eczema; violent neuralgia of face and teeth, radiating to ears; neuralgic pains come and leave parts numb; sudden pains that wake up from sleep; twitching right-sided muscles; boring pains in bones of upper jaw; violent itching of face and scalp; worse night or eating; better from heat.
Plumbum metallicum – swelling of mostly the right side of the face; slowly progressive muscle atrophy or paralysis or violent contractions.
Rhus tox – mostly left side; stiffness worse from cold exposure or weather change; painful cheek bones, sensitive to touch; worse evenings.
Source: Dave’s Healing Notes
