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Suggest Treatment For Pain In The Temple Region
Question: My 25 year old daughter is xperiencing headaches that start near her tear ducts and moves towards her temple as. Also unusual thirst. She noticed these symptoms after having her teeth cleaned.
Brief Answer:
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Judging from the location of the headache the first diagnosis I would consider would be that of sinusitis which is the most common cause of pain in that area. It would be even more probable if there are additional symptoms of nasal congestion and discharge.
If the symptoms keep appearing after brushing her teeth then a trigeminal nerve issue should be considered, the nerve which provides sensation for the face. Typically it presents with sharp lancinating pain lasting only for seconds often triggered by actions such as eating or cleaning the teeth. There are though rare forms where the pain is of a more persistent character.
A dental issue should also be considered although having that distribution of pain without involvement of the jaw would be unusual.
Last if there persists the issue of excessive thirst and excessive amounts of urine then a central nervous system issue should be considered like diabetes insipidus due to a pituitary or hypothalamic brain lesion (such as infection, inflammation, tumor etc). They are very rare though, do not want you to panic.
So to conclude, in the meantime over the counter painkillers like Ibuprofen can be used to alleviate the pain, but if the issue persists and a sinus issue is excluded by your primary doctor then both for the diagnosis of a trigeminal neuropathy as well as for pituitary lesions, MRI brain imaging should be scheduled to exclude lesions of the brain. Some routine blood tests such as blood count, blood sugar etc should be taken as well to screen for indicators of infection, anemia etc.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Judging from the location of the headache the first diagnosis I would consider would be that of sinusitis which is the most common cause of pain in that area. It would be even more probable if there are additional symptoms of nasal congestion and discharge.
If the symptoms keep appearing after brushing her teeth then a trigeminal nerve issue should be considered, the nerve which provides sensation for the face. Typically it presents with sharp lancinating pain lasting only for seconds often triggered by actions such as eating or cleaning the teeth. There are though rare forms where the pain is of a more persistent character.
A dental issue should also be considered although having that distribution of pain without involvement of the jaw would be unusual.
Last if there persists the issue of excessive thirst and excessive amounts of urine then a central nervous system issue should be considered like diabetes insipidus due to a pituitary or hypothalamic brain lesion (such as infection, inflammation, tumor etc). They are very rare though, do not want you to panic.
So to conclude, in the meantime over the counter painkillers like Ibuprofen can be used to alleviate the pain, but if the issue persists and a sinus issue is excluded by your primary doctor then both for the diagnosis of a trigeminal neuropathy as well as for pituitary lesions, MRI brain imaging should be scheduled to exclude lesions of the brain. Some routine blood tests such as blood count, blood sugar etc should be taken as well to screen for indicators of infection, anemia etc.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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