Trigeminal Neuralgia, also known as
prosopalgia, suicide disease, or Fothergill's disease is a neuropathic disorder characterized by episodes of intense pain in the face, originating from the trigeminal nerve.
It is defined by the international headache society as "unilateral disorder characterized by brief electric shock like pain, abrupt in onset and termination and limited to the distribution of one or more division of the trigeminal nerve.1 Trigeminal neuralgia was first described John Fothergill in 1773 it is also known as
Prosopalgia, the suicide disease or Fothergilll's disease and Nicolas Andrew invented the term "Tic Doulourex" in 1756 in his book because of the distinctive facial spasm that often accompanies the face.2
The 72-year-old has trigeminal neuralgia, or
prosopalgia, an illness that causes an intense, stabbing pain in her face.