”My mother has had trigeminal neuralgia in her face for several years, and acupuncture and creams applied to her face have not worked. What is trigeminal neuralgia? Is there any good treatment and preventive measures?” Triggers: mood tension and nutritional deficiencies The common triggers that cause trigeminal neuralgia are as follows: 1. It is an overly stressful mood: mental stimulation is an important factor that triggers trigeminal neuralgia. Patients often can’t let go of their emotions and moods, frowning all day and worrying about the pain that may be coming, which results in liver depression and qi stagnation, which turns into fire for a long time and disturbs the brain and leads to pain attacks. 2, is a nutritional deficiency: white-collar, gold-collar, red-collar is a high incidence of trigeminal neuralgia people, mainly due to vegetarian or do not eat staple food, blind diet, the body lacks the necessary nutrients and cause pain. People suffering from trigeminal neuralgia need a high carbohydrate diet to supply energy as well as to protect nerve function. 3, is the trigger point: the location and size of the patient’s “trigger point” varies, even as small as a point or a whisker, mostly in the lips, nose, cheeks, corners of the mouth, tongue and eyes, eyebrows and so on. The pain is induced by blowing the nose, chewing, yawning, talking, swallowing, washing the face, brushing the teeth, frowning, shaving or hot and cold water stimulation. 4, is the frequent consumption of irritating food: too cold, too hot and very irritating food is one of the triggers of trigeminal neuralgia. In addition, seafood, eggs, milk, chocolate, beer, coffee, oranges and tomatoes will produce 5-hydroxytryptamine after entering the human body, which will also lead to the dysfunction of cranial vasodilation and contraction. Performance: facial redness and increased skin temperature So, what are the clinical manifestations of trigeminal neuralgia? Dr. Yao Xingjun said, from the age and sex, it is mostly seen in middle and old people, and there are more women, about 2-3 times as many as men. In terms of pain location, it does not go beyond the distribution of trigeminal nerve, often confined to one side, mostly involving one branch, with the second and third branch of combined pain on one side being the most common. In terms of the nature of the pain, the pain is episodic electric shock-like, knife-like, tearing-like pain, with sudden onset and stop, usually without warning, and intermittent periods are completely normal. The pain lasts for a few seconds to 1-2 minutes each time, and the interval between attacks is gradually shortened and the pain is gradually increased. From vascular-vegetative symptoms: sometimes accompanied by facial redness, increased skin temperature, conjunctival congestion, lacrimation, increased salivation, nasal mucosa congestion and runny nose. From the trigger and its trigger point: washing the face, brushing teeth, chewing, yawning and speaking can often trigger its onset. Some patients can have painful episodes by touching the area around the nose, mouth, gums, inner end of the eyebrow arch, etc. These sensitive areas are called “trigger points” or “trigger points”. In terms of prevention, the first thing to do is to have a regular diet and choose soft, easy-to-chew foods. Patients with chewing-induced pain should eat a liquid diet and should not eat fried food, irritating, overly acidic and sweet food, or hot food. Next, pay attention to the head and face to keep warm, avoid local freezing and moisture, do not use too cold or too hot water to wash the face; usually should maintain emotional stability, should not be excited, should not be fatigued and stay up late, often listen to soft music, calm mood, keep enough sleep. At the same time, keep a happy spirit, avoid mental stimulation; try to avoid touching the “trigger point”; regular living, indoor environment should be quiet, neat, fresh air. At the same time, the bedroom should not be attacked by wind and cold. Appropriate participation in sports, physical exercise, to enhance physical fitness. What about in terms of treatment? The treatment of trigeminal nerve pain is divided into non-invasive and invasive treatment methods. Invasive treatment methods include surgical therapy, injection therapy and radiofrequency thermal coagulation therapy. Invasive surgery is very much related to the skill of the doctor, and the better the skill, the better the surgery. Non-invasive treatment methods include medication, Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture therapy, physiotherapy, and topical ear drops treatment.