Temporal arteritis also called as giant cell arteritis is swelling of inner lining of the arteries that carry oxygenated blood. Arteries are blood vessels that carry pure (oxygen rich) blood from the heart to other parts of the body. This disorder largely involves thickening of arteries in your head and your temples. Hence it is also known as cranial arteritis. It causes severe headache, jaw pain and blurred vision. Temporal arteritis can be treated in time by corticosteroid drugs. Loss of vision can be avoided if the treatment is given without delay. Since the disease involves formation of abnormally large sized cells within the lining of arteries it is called giant cell arteritis.
Symptoms :
Severe headache and tenderness on the temples are the common symptom of temporal arteritis. Signs may vary depending on the extent of inflammation of the arteries and which part of the body it has affected. Tenderness can be felt on the scalp for many people. It becomes difficult to comb the hair and to lay your head even on the pillow. Pain is felt either on both the temples or on one side.
Some people have pain in the jaw muscles making it difficult to eat or swallow. The jaw pain tends to subside when the person is resting the jaw muscles. One out of every 5 people with this disease will get their vision affected. Loss of vision will be permanent or temporary. Visual disturbance is quite common for all people affected with temporal arteritis. Double vision (called diplopia) can occur on one eye and if left untreated can proceed to affect other eye also. There can be sudden permanent loss of vision on one eye.
In addition, there may be symptoms like fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, loss of weight and depression. Polymyalgia rheumatica is the medical term related to describe the condition of pain and stiffness in the upper arms and shoulder region. This happens due to inflammation of the muscles inside. You should never delay in visiting your doctor if you have severe headache and blurred vision to prevent blindness.