Trigeminal neuralgia, tic douloureux (also known as prosopalgia, the Suicide Disease or Fothergill's disease) is a neuropathic disorder characterized by episodes of intense pain

Pain

Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...

 in the face, originating from the trigeminal nerve

Trigeminal nerve

The trigeminal nerve contains both sensory and motor fibres. It is responsible for sensation in the face and certain motor functions such as biting, chewing, and swallowing. Sensory information from the face and body is processed by parallel pathways in the central nervous system...

. It has been described as among the most painful conditions known. It is estimated that 1 in 15,000 people suffer from TN, although the actual figure may be significantly higher due to frequent misdiagnosis.