Sharp pain around the jaw after alcohol consumption

[MCurley]

For about 2 years now, I have noticed that after a glass of wine I experience a sharp pain around my jaw. I've had this sensation before whenever I eat a citris or sour fruit, however, lately after consuming any alcohol such as beer, wine, and margaritas, etc., I get this sharp, excruciating pain after just one glass. It hurts so badly, especially if I drink water. The moment the H2O hits the jaw part of my inner mouth, a burning sensation immediately follows. Now, here's the strange part, if I drink another glass of alcohol the pain will subside instantly. The pain will still return but will not be as painful as the prior time. I have read about Lymphoma, and I cannot say that I experience this pain any where else in my body, and I don't seem to experience any of the other symptoms. I'd appreciate any input in helping me come up with a solution for this. Someone told me that the solution was to either drink plenty or nothing at all in order to avoid this... ha ha. Anyway, one more thing... I don't think I have this problem with mixed drinks containing sodas and liquor.

[ergath06]

I use 2 ice packs, one on each side of the face.  It may not fix the issue but at least you can lay down in relative comfort and wait for the pain to subside.  I mean I'd rather have a cold numb face than all the sharp stabbing pain.

Hope this helps someone like it's helped me.

[Sherdd]

Vitamin C therapy begins right now. The pain has grown incredibly worse over the past two years. This am I had maple syrup on blueberry waffles, and have been experiencing jaw pain, "pins & needles" discomfort, along with spams for the past two hours.  The pain rarely goes away anymore. My throat even has a odd pains, moving around, not in any one spot.  

[nightbaron]

I've been experiencing the exact same thing, and it was great to finally find others who share this predicament.

It seems to happen most often when I haven't had a beer/wine in a while, when I drink more frequently it hardly ever occurs.  It's happened a few times with food as well.  And once it happens, lasting 10-15 minutes, it goes away and doesn't happen again.

The theory that a sensitivity of the salivatory glands creates some sort of spasm when exposed to whichever substance is causing this (sulfites, bacteria, etc..) is the one which makes most sense to me so far, and I'm looking forward tot eying that Vitamin C theory.

Thanks everyone!

[farmgirl23]

I have same issue. I go for acupuncture and was telling her about it. She knew exa tly what I was talking about, said it is realted to tne alcohol and also hot spicy foods. Whether you believe in chinese medicine or not, she said it hss to do with how stomach digests the alcohol and tbe way it releases excess heat is back through the jaw thus the sharp pain. Just recently I have been getting intense throbbing pain that affects half of my face for a few minutes at a time-seriously, you do not want to experience this! She says it may be triggered by the same things. She recommended I go see family doctor to rule things out, but may be able to just treat it with acupuncture.

[Kraddock]

This makes sense, because every time I get that (usually after drinking some kinds of beer, like Guinness, which is my favorite) it is preceded by short pain right where the pancreas should be. Well, I can't be 100% sure it's the pancreas and not the liver or gallbladder, but it's that spot. It goes something like this: a glass of beer, 10 minutes later short pain in the pancreas area, 30 minutes later jaw "pins and needles". The pain I have there is really not as strong as most people here seem to have (it's really just sharp pins and needles) but It's enough to worry me. By the way, the exact same thing happens after I eat a local artisan rye bread, so I'm pretty sure alcohol is not to blame per se, as I don't have any problems with hard spirits. And just as the others note, If I continue to drink or eat the same stuff the pain goes away. My belief is that the cause of this is an allergic response of the body, probably to specific types of yeast/bacteria (I don't have problems with yogurt as others, for example, but I've been eating it my whole life, because I'm from Bulgaria).

[d0mniscient]

Also everyone, after this pain happens you could resume drinking your alcohol, it goes away after you drink more (sounds weird) but Im serious. also drinking water while its happening will help even though its painful