Facial pain has many causes. People who suffer from sinusitis most often complain about this type of pain. However, face pain can also be struggling with people who have a headache that radiates to different parts of the face. Facial pain can also be a symptom of serious diseases such as glaucoma or oral cancer. Check what other causes of facial pain are.

The most common causes of facial painare sinusitis or headache. However, facial pain can also be caused by conditions that are difficult to associate with this type of pain, such as pulp diseases or smallpox. However, the most dangerous causes of facial pain are glaucoma and oral cancers.

Pain in the facemay have a different character, eg prickly, throbbing, but most often it is described as sharp, piercing. It can also vary in intensity, ranging from weak to very strong. In the diagnosis of facial pain, its location is also important (e.g. one or two-sided, outside or inside the mouth). The duration of the pain (constant pain, intermittent pain) is also very important. Also taken into account are factors that trigger pain (e.g. stress, fatigue, chewing) and those that bring relief (most often rest).

Pain in the face - pain from the eye area

  • orbital inflammation- sudden, painful redness of the eye, eyelid swelling, erythema, pain when touching and trying to move the eyeball, exophthalmos
  • glaucoma- sudden and severe pain in the eye that radiates to the bones of the face and sometimes to the back of the head. There is also a loss of visual acuity, the perception of rainbow circles around light sources

Pain in the face - pain from the mouth area

  • caries , cavity of enamel or dentin, tooth fracture - acute, well-located pain that can radiate to different parts of the face
  • dental pulp diseases- poorly localized pain radiating to the surrounding structures. Usually it does not go to the opposite side of the face
  • diseases of the salivary glands -the pain is located on the side of the face, near the masseter muscle (large bibs) or throughout the mouth (smaller salivary glands)
  • oral cancer -distracting pain,resulting from infiltration of facial structures

Pain in the face - inflammation of the paranasal sinuses

Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses is manifested by severe pain in the forehead and base of the nose, which increases in the morning and when the head is tilted forward. The accompanying symptoms are nasal discharge, malaise, lack of appetite.

Facial pain - Coro-mandibular joint syndrome

Coro-mandibular joint syndrome is a disease whose essence is a dysfunction of the joint connecting the upper and lower jaw. It is manifested by pain in the jaw when opening or closing the mouth, e.g. when talking, biting or yawning. Then you can also hear the characteristic crackling sound. In addition, you may also get a headache that resembles migraine pain. It often radiates into the ears or causes an unpleasant pressure behind the eyeballs and is aggravated when opening or closing the mouth.

Facial pain - hyoid bone syndrome

The hyoid bone syndrome is a group of symptoms caused, among others, by calcification of the styloid-hyoid ligament. The disease presents with acute pain that begins below the angle of the lower jaw and radiates to the front of the side of the neck and ear with jaw movements, swallowing, and when the neck is twisted. The accompanying symptoms are difficulty swallowing food, a sense of a foreign body in the throat or larynx, and facial pain.

Facial Pain - Facial Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

Reflex facial sympathetic dystrophy is a rare pain syndrome that affects the face and neck and is associated with unpleasant sensations (e.g., pain, burning, burning sensation), hyperalgesia, and disturbance of normal sensation. This pain is constant and described as stinging.

Pain in the face - primary headaches

  • migraine- it is characterized by a strong, gradually increasing, pulsating, one-sided headache, which is localized in the temple area and intensifies during physical activity. A migraine attack usually lasts from 4 to 72 hours. It is often preceded by the so-called aura (e.g. limited or complete obstruction of the field of vision, numbness or tingling in the limbs, tinnitus)
  • tension headachemanifests itself with a gradually increasing, bilateral, squeezing, girdling or boring (comparable to the feeling of a tight band or hat) headache. Most often it is located near the temple or the occiput
  • inflammation of the temporal artery(giant cell artery) is characterized by a chronic headache, localized in the temporal region, most often at night. During an attack, the temporal artery swells painfully. There may also be visual disturbances
  • three-part-autonomic headaches(cluster headache, continuous hemikranic, paroxysmal hemicrancy, and SUNCT syndrome) are short-lived, one-sided, similar to headache neuralgia. They are accompanied by lacrimation and nasal obstruction

Facial pain - neuropathic pain

  • glossopharyngeal neuralgia- glossopharyngeal neuralgia manifests itself as a piercing, strong, stabbing, episodic, unilateral pain. It is located in the area of ​​the palatine tonsil, larynx, in the posterior third of the tongue, in the nasopharynx, in the area of ​​the mandibular angle and in the auricle. Seizures occur suddenly throughout the day and last from a few seconds to two minutes
  • post-herpetic neuralgiamay appear after infection with the herpes zoster virus. Then the pain in the face is burning, stinging, stinging, sometimes shooting. It can also lead to sensory disturbances
  • trigeminal neuropathy(trigeminal neuropathy) - pain attack in the middle of the face lasts from several to several seconds and affects the cheeks, jaw, teeth, gums, mouth, and sometimes also eyes and forehead. Accompanying symptoms may include runny nose, lacrimation, reddening of the skin on the face, drooling, impaired hearing and taste, and facial muscle spasms
  • Burning Mouth Syndromeis characterized by a burning or burning sensation in the mouth without disturbing changes. Pain in most cases is mainly located on the tongue, especially in 2/3 of its front part

Facial pain - other neurological or vascular causes

  • pain after stroke;
  • chronic idiopathic facial pain, aka Atypical Facial Pain (AFP), is a chronic facial pain whose causes cannot be determined

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