Trigeminal Neuralgia Secondary to Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection Treated With Oral Acyclovir
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is characterized by episodic electric, shock-like facial pain. Though often idiopathic, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) reactivation can rarely cause symptomatic TN. We report the case of a 30-year-old woman who developed oral HSV-1 lesions followed by right-sided TN pa...
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| Published in: | Cureus Vol. 16; no. 2; p. e54128 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
01-02-2024
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| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is characterized by episodic electric, shock-like facial pain. Though often idiopathic, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) reactivation can rarely cause symptomatic TN. We report the case of a 30-year-old woman who developed oral HSV-1 lesions followed by right-sided TN pain. MRI of the brain did not reveal neurovascular compression. TN pain completely resolved with oral acyclovir treatment alone, without anticonvulsants. This highlights the importance of considering atypical etiologies such as HSV-1 reactivation in TN evaluation. Early antiviral therapy may treat underlying inflammation and provide sustained symptom relief in HSV-associated TN. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Case Study-2 content type line 59 SourceType-Reports-1 ObjectType-Report-1 |
| ISSN: | 2168-8184 2168-8184 |
| DOI: | 10.7759/cureus.54128 |