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The Neuralgias: Diagnosis and Management

  • Headache (RB Halker, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

The neuralgias are characterized by pain in the distribution of a cranial or cervical nerve. While most often brief, severe, and paroxysmal, continuous neuropathic pain may occur. The most commonly encountered entities include trigeminal, postherpetic, glossopharyngeal, and occipital neuralgia. More unusual cranial neuralgias may occur in periorbital (eg, supraorbital neuralgia) and auricular (eg, nervus intermedius neuralgia) distributions. These disorders may be mimicked by structural and inflammatory/infectious neurologic disease, along with other primary headache disorders (eg, primary stabbing headache). The approach to diagnosis and treatment of this group of headache disorders is reviewed.

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Article 16 August 2018

Danielle Wilhour & Stephanie J. Nahas

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Paul M. Gadient and Jonathan H. Smith declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky, 740 S. Limestone, L445, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA

    Paul M. Gadient & Jonathan H. Smith

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Correspondence to Jonathan H. Smith.

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Gadient, P.M., Smith, J.H. The Neuralgias: Diagnosis and Management. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 14, 459 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-014-0459-3

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