Symptoms

Trigeminal neuralgia symptoms may include one or more of these patterns:

• Episodes of severe, shooting or jabbing pain that may feel like an electric shock.
• Spontaneous attacks of pain or attacks triggered by things such as touching the face, chewing, speaking or brushing teeth.
• Bouts of pain lasting from a few seconds to several minutes.
• Episodes of several attacks lasting days, weeks, months or longer. Some people have periods when they experience no pain.

• Constant aching, burning feeling that may occur before it evolves into the spasm-like pain of trigeminal neuralgia.
• Pain in areas supplied by the trigeminal nerve, including the cheek, jaw, teeth, gums, lips, or less often the eye and forehead.
• Pain affecting one side of the face at a time, though may rarely affect both sides of the face.
• Pain is focused in one spot or spread in a wider pattern.
• Attacks become more frequent and intense over time.

When to see a doctor

If you experience facial pain, particularly prolonged or recurring pain or pain unrelieved by over the counter pain relievers, then see your doctor.