What does nerve pain feel like? People use words like pins and needles and burning sensations to describe nerve pain, which is often unbearable but can be relieved. Neuralgia is a chronic pain caused by damage to nerve fibers that misconducts and causes chronic pain. This pain is not caused by damage to the painful area, for example, foot pain in diabetic patients does not mean that the foot has been traumatized. I. Symptoms of neuralgia: 1. Trigger points are often present in neuralgia. Trigger points are caused by increased nerve sensitivity in the damaged innervation area, for example, patients suffering from shingles cannot tolerate touching in the infected area, and once the infected area is touched by putting on or taking off clothes or by a sheet, it will trigger severe pain, the same situation is seen in patients with trigeminal neuralgia, who often refuse to wash their faces and brush their teeth because touching their cheeks or the inside of their mouth will cause severe trigeminal neuralgia. 2. Another common symptom of neuralgia is sensory loss. Not all neuropathy lesions manifest as neuralgia, some can manifest as numbness or loss of sensation. For example, sensory loss in the fingers may affect the sensitivity of the hand, making activities such as keying, tying shoelaces or playing musical instruments difficult. Sensory loss can also affect balance and muscle coordination, making it easy for patients to fall or break objects, requiring them to be equipped with crutches to prevent falls in daily life. Patients with sensory loss are often unable to detect trauma in the first place, so patients with this type of pain need to check themselves frequently for trauma to the limbs. 3. There are also some neuralgia that intensifies at night, such as sciatica, and the increased pain can cause insomnia, which can lead to other diseases, so patients with increased neuralgia at night need early treatment. 2. Progression of neuralgia: Neuralgia tends to progress, especially when the underlying disease such as diabetes is not treated. The progression of neuralgia is often centripetal – progressing from the end of the limbs to the trunk – and the progression can be stopped if timely diagnosis and treatment are given. III. What are the causes of neuralgia? The cause of some neuralgia is unknown, but many people suffer from underlying diseases such as diabetes, shingles and tumors. How to treat neuralgia? 1.Use OTC drugs, the most commonly used are NSAIDs class such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. The dosage form of drugs containing these ingredients may be taken orally for internal use or may be made into ointment, jelly, oil or spray for external use. 2. Prescription drugs. Prescription drugs for nerve pain include powerful analgesics such as morphine and some drugs for epilepsy or depression that also have bouts of pain. Prescription drugs are effective, but these drugs are addictive, so you need to consult your doctor if there are indications for their use and symptoms of addiction. 3. Complementary therapy. Many methods can help patients with neuralgia to relieve pain or numbness, such as acupuncture or oral vitamin B12 nerve nutrition, but before applying complementary therapies need to determine with the competent doctor that these complementary therapies will not interfere with the effectiveness of drug treatment. 4. Healthy lifestyle. Some studies have shown that a healthy lifestyle (physical exercise, nutritious and reasonable diet, and maintaining a standard weight) can help control nerve pain.