Very genuine and apt question , here is the answer: 1. Trigeminal neuralgia - it's a condition and not a disease that affects your trigeminal nerves on the face giving you chronic sharp shooting electric type of pain for a short duration, the causes of this due the damage on trigeminal nerves either due to aging, MS or a tumor that compresses these nerves The pain start just at the cheek bones level and or slightly above. 2. Occipital neuralgia is more of a distinct headache not everyone gets this type of headache but it start from the back of the neck and radiates upwards to the patients head. Hope this helps...