Why is Trigeminal Neuralgia called “suicide disease”?

Trigeminal Neuralgia is not a common disorder, but is also not as uncommon as you think. Trigeminal Neuralgia is a type of facial pain that affects half the face and has a very characteristic feature, like sharp and shooting pain. We’re not really sure what the incidence is in Singapore. There is no exact data, but around 0. 03% of the population has it. So, maybe several thousand patients have it per year.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a type of severe facial pain whereby sudden, electrical or stabbing pain that is felt on one side of the face. There is often a trigger, such as eating, brushing teeth, or even talking. The pain comes from the trigeminal nerve usually because it is compressed by a blood vessel, although other causes such as tumours or multiple sclerosis must be excluded. The first-line treatment of trigeminal neuralgia is with medications.