Trigeminal neuralgia symptoms display

Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
Updated on September 26, 2024
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Trigeminal neuralgia typically manifests as sudden, severe facial pain, most often occurring in areas such as the upper lip, nostril, or corner of the mouth. These areas are prone to forming trigger points, and touching or stimulating these points can provoke an episode of pain. Most often, pain attacks occur when the patient is talking or eating, causing sudden cessation of the activity. The patient may experience unilateral facial muscle spasms, and reactions such as frowning, clenching teeth, opening the mouth wide, covering the eyes, or vigorously rubbing the face with the palm of the hand, leading to rough, thickened skin and eyebrow hair loss.

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Trigeminal neuralgia prodrome

Trigeminal neuralgia does not have very obvious precursors. This is because trigeminal neuralgia often occurs suddenly, especially with the concept of trigger points. That is to say, once the trigger point is activated, it immediately induces pain without any warning signs. Trigger points vary from person to person, usually located primarily on the cheek. Patients who frequently suffer from trigeminal neuralgia often know these areas. Typically, the pain occurs during activities like brushing teeth with cold water or chewing hard foods such as peanuts or walnuts, triggering severe pain instantly. Thus, in the case of trigeminal neuralgia, there are no precursors, only immediate triggers and immediate pain.

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Written by Feng Ying Shuai
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Where to massage for trigeminal neuralgia?

Trigeminal neuralgia is a stubborn and hard-to-treat condition in clinical practice. Sometimes symptoms can be alleviated through massage. Which acupoints should be massaged? For severe eye branch pain, you can massage Jingming, Sibai, Yangbai, and Touwei acupoints. If the pain is in the maxillary branch, you can massage Yingxiang, Quanliao, Xiaguan, and Tinggong acupoints. For severe mandibular branch pain, massage Chengjiang, Dicang, and Jiache acupoints, meaning the massage technique should progress from gentle to firm.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Should people with trigeminal neuralgia avoid certain foods?

Patients with trigeminal neuralgia need to be cautious about their diet. In daily life, try to avoid oily, spicy, and irritating foods, as these types of foods may trigger an attack of trigeminal neuralgia or make the existing attacks more frequent, thereby causing great pain to the patient. It is recommended to choose a light diet in daily life, low in salt and fat, especially for patients with high blood pressure or diabetes, who need to be more cautious. It may be beneficial to appropriately include some fresh vegetables and fruits in the diet, and it is also suggested to supplement with some multivitamin drugs, which might enhance the effects. If trigeminal neuralgia attacks frequently, it is still recommended to visit a local hospital in a timely manner and consider undergoing microvascular decompression surgery for treatment.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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What foods should be avoided with trigeminal neuralgia?

If you suffer from trigeminal neuralgia, you need to be cautious about your diet. Try to avoid greasy, spicy, and stimulating foods, as well as foods that are too cold or too hot, as these can easily trigger trigeminal neuralgia. Also, it is best to limit or avoid carbohydrates, foods rich in cholesterol, and fried foods. For patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia, it is advisable to choose a low-salt, low-fat diet and avoid foods rich in sugar or salt. Otherwise, it may lead to increased blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids. If patients have allergic reactions or are prone to allergies, they should avoid seafood, which contains rich animal proteins and can easily trigger allergic reactions.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Which hospital is good for trigeminal neuralgia?

For trigeminal neuralgia, it is generally recommended that patients seek medical advice from a prominent tertiary hospital early in the onset and consult a neurosurgeon to assess their condition. Once diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, initial treatment can often start with oral medication, which can relieve pain to a certain extent for most patients. However, medication alone rarely cures the condition completely. Clinically, it is typically recommended that patients undergo microvascular decompression surgery, which has satisfying therapeutic outcomes for most patients, gradually alleviating, or even eliminating, the symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia pain. Therefore, for such patients, early diagnosis and treatment are advised.