Neuralgia can result from tooth decay, poor diet, eye strain, nose infections, or exposure to damp and cold. Postherpetic neuralgia is an intense debilitating pain felt at the site of a previous attack of shingles. The facial pain of migraine neuralgia lasts between 30 minutes and an hour and occurs at the same time on successive days. The cause is not known. Its cause is not known.
Occipital neuralgia is caused by a pinched occipital nerve.
There are two occipital nerves, each located at the back of the neck, each supplying feeling to the skin over half of the back of the head. To diagnose occipital neuralgia, a doctor can inject a small amount of anesthetic into the region of the occipital nerve. If the pain temporarily disappears, and there are no other physical reasons for the pain, the doctor may recommend surgery to deal with the pinched nerve. Treatment Glossopharyngeal, trigeminal, and postherpetic neuralgias sometimes respond to anticonvulsant drugs , such as carbamazepine or phenytoin, or to painkillers, such as acetaminophen . Trigeminal neuralgia may also be relieved by surgery in which the nerve is cut or decompressed.