Neuralgia is an intense burning or stabbing pain caused by nerve irritation or damage. The pain is usually brief but may be severe. It is usually felt in the part of the body that is supplied by the irritated nerve and often feels as if it is shooting along the nerve.

Disease, infection, and inflammation can cause neuralgia, as can pressure on a nerve or irritation of a nerve. The problem can arise from tooth decay, eye strain, poor diet, 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. Trigeminal neuralgia (also called tic douloureux, the most common type of neuralgia), causes a brief, searing pain along the trigeminal nerve, which supplies sensation to the face. The facial pain of migraine neuralgia lasts between 30 minutes and an hour and occurs at the...