Home Remedies For Neuralgia

Nerve pains caused by neuropathy disorder are called neuralgia. These pains are stabbing, burning, and often quite severe pains. Some neuralgia pains do not require any treatment, but some other neuralgic pain may require home remedies for pain relief or may even require proper medical treatment.

Pain from neuralgia is very different from Nociceptive pain such as the pain caused by injury, burn or pressure ( external force or internal pressure by a tumor) etc, where the actual tissue is damaged and the tiny nerve ending becomes activated causing pain. In such pains normal pain killers, anti-inflammatory, codeine etc can work.

Neuropathic pain or neuralgia is different, because here the function of the nerve itself is affected that sends pain signals. Such pain does not respond to conventional pain killers.

What Causes Neuralgia?

Various nerve disorders cause neuropathic pain. The malfunctioning nerve can be at any part of the body, but facial nerves are the most common area for the neuralgia pain. The real underlying cause of any type of neuralgia is nerve malfunctioning.

In some cases the coating of the nerve called myelin sheath wears away causing malfunctioning of the nerve sending pain signals. The coating can get affected by many factors including old age. However, in most cases of neuralgia the causes are completely unknown.

Some of the other causes of neuralgia pain are infections such as shingles, lyme disease, HIV and syphilis. Though it is not necessary that everyone who gets these infections will have neuralgia.

Multiple sclerosis, diabetes can also cause myelin damage causing neuralgia pain.

Different Types of Neuralgia

There are some common types of neuralgia pains. Some of them are as under

1. Trigeminal Neuralgia - The pain associated with the trigeminal nerve that travels from the brain to the face. The pain is usually caused by a blood vessel pressing the nerve. It can happen to Multiple sclerosis patience and it usually affects one side of the face.
2. Postherpetic Neuralgia - This kind of neuralgia pain occurs after the infection of shingles gets complicated. The pain can be mild or sever. It can be persistent or intermittent and it will occur wherever the shingles blisters appear. Any remedy for shingles that works well will also work in postherpetic neuralgia.
3. Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia - This type of neuralgia pain occurs in the throat where the glossopharyngeal nerve is. The pain is cause to the neck and throat. 
4. Occipital Neuralgia - This type of neuralgia pain is caused by physical and emotional tension are and it produces continuous aching and throbbing pain.

Home Remedies and Alternative Therapies for Neuralgia

Though there is no scientific evidence, alternative treatment such as acupuncture, biofeedback and chiropractic have been found useful by some sufferers of neuralgia pain.

Nutritional base home remedies are also very popular to treat neuralgia. Some of the them are given below:

1. Rosemary for Neuralgia

Rosemary oil has analgesic properties. Applying on the pain area will help reduce neuropathic pain caused by trigeminal neuralgia.

You can brew tea of rosemary and drink it three times a day. The antioxidant capabilities of rosemary helps to boost the immune system resisting pains. It induces a sedative effect on the nerves to calm down.

2. Cayenne Pepper for Easing Neuralgia Pain

Cayenne pepper is one of the best home remedies for neuralgia, but it is not suitable for those who bleed easily. Such people should avoid it.

Others can mix cayenne pepper with olive oil to apply on the affected area. The moisturizing properties of olive oil helps the cayenne pepper to reach the nerves through the skin. Cayenne pepper has anti-inflammatory properties and is also used for arthritis pain relief.

3. Carrot Juice

Drink one glass of carrot juice daily. Carrot is rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B5 and folic acid. These vitamins nourish the nerves effectively and reduce neuralgia pain.

4. Ginger

Ginger has excellent anti-inflammatory properties. drink ginger tea 2-3 times a day. Peel and cut about an inch of ginger in small pieces or grate it and boil in a glass of water. Simmer it for 5 minutes and strain the tea. Drink sip by sip.

5. Turmeric

Curcumin found in turmeric has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. You can use turmeric in you cooking to consume it to reduce inflammations of all kinds including pain and inflammation caused by neuralgia.