Temporal problem

[Ritamahajan]

I have been having pain in my Left temple area since a couple of years. It has agravated over the period of time and my both ears are stressed and feel a kind of pressure from within in both the ears.
It has also led to pain in the tip of my neck spreading thru the shoulders. Is there any thing to releive this pain????
Is it very serious???

[DrNavneetMD]

Hello Dear,
Temporal arthritis or giant cell arthritis is a systemic inflammatory illness that affects people over the age of 50. It generally starts slowly with the development of fatigue and malaise over several weeks. It may also cause low grade fevers and weight loss. Patients will also experience muscle and joint aches in their hips and shoulders but only rarely true joint swelling.

As part of the inflammatory process, major large arteries are inflamed, in particular the temporal artery (artery at the side of head near the temples). Since the temporal artery supplies blood to the jaw and top of the head, symptoms include headache, scalp tenderness and soreness of the jaw after chewing or talking. The temporal artery also supplies the optic nerve and one of the most serious, and gratefully rare, complications of temporal arthritis is blindness The major concern with temporal arthritis is vision loss, although if allowed to progress, it may affect arteries in other areas of the body. This condition is potentially vision threatening, however, if treated promptly, permanent vision loss can be prevented.Your symptoms do not seem like temporal arthriris.You should consult a neurologist and probably there is a neurological cause behind your headache.
Refer http://www.arthritispharmacy.com/arthritis/arthritis-pain/TEMPORAL_ARTHRITIS.html
Best

[Ritamahajan]

Dear Doctor,
Thanks for the quick response. I had been having the pain occassionaly in the past. These days it is 24/7. I had consulted ENT specialists and we have done the tests and also taken CT scan everything is normal. He is suggesting TEMPORAL ARTHRITIS.
Do you think so too??? If so what are the remedies and why only on one side??
Please guide me
Thanks
Rita Mahajan

[DrNavneetMD]

Hello Dear,
There Could be different causes for the headache like trigeminal neuralgia,tension headache,spondylosis,head injury,sinusitis etc.You should consult a physician and find out the cause so that the treatment can be decided.For relieving pain you can take ibuprofen or some NSAID . Regular exercise  will help you cope with pain.
Best