Atypical (Idiopathic) Facial Pain

Atypical facial pain is a constant pain. The most affected areas are the upper jaw, the cheek, nose, eyes, the forehead and the temples. Over time, the pain may also spread to the neck. Some people may experience this pain for many days to then go through some days without pain at all. Others are constantly affected by chronic facial pain and do not experience any pain-free time.

The causes for atypical facial pain are still not known, which makes treatment even more difficult. Nevertheless, this disease can be easily differenced from trigeminal neuralgia (see there) because atypical facial pain does not manifest itself through attacks but it is rather a persistent pain.

In order to avoid months of drug treatment, it is recommended the application of non-drug treatments. TENS has proven itself in this area. The TENS method helps to block the pain message sent to the brain and to stimulate the body's own pain-inhibiting substances such as endorphins. The TENS therapy consists of several applications, which can be carried out by the patients themselves after receiving the instructions from the doctor.