What to do if you have trigeminal neuralgia in your head

Trigeminal neuralgia is a very common disease. If a patient experiences trigeminal neuralgia in the head, it generally means that the disease is very serious. There are many causes of trigeminal neuralgia in the head. Suffering from this disease will not only affect the patient's life, but also the patient's work. In severe cases, it may even endanger life safety. Patients must pay attention to trigeminal neuralgia in the early stages.

Trigeminal neuralgia in the head is a disease that makes patients feel extremely painful. When the disease occurs, the pain of the patient is quite severe. Moreover, this disease mainly occurs among middle-aged and elderly people, so it will have a serious impact on the patient's quality of life and even affect normal work.

The occurrence of trigeminal neuralgia is related to the patient's brain nerves. The patient mainly experiences pain on one side, and this disease occurs more frequently among middle-aged and elderly people. For the treatment of this disease, it is necessary to adopt a scientific method to treat it normally, so that it can achieve a good therapeutic effect. Patients with trigeminal neuralgia in the head can be treated with medication. Some patients will experience some adverse reactions after taking the medication. Preliminary judgment is that this is due to dose dependence. For example, patients will feel dizzy, drowsy, nystagmus, etc. These conditions are relatively common, and patients should not panic too much. It is also non-dose dependent, such as drug-induced hepatitis, bone marrow suppression, hyponatremia. Some patients may also experience congestive heart failure and rash. Pregnant women should avoid using the drug.

In addition to drug treatment, patients can also use physical therapy for treatment, which can also have a good effect. Patients can use intermittent electrosparse and dense wave therapy or gyromagnetic therapy. There are also laser treatments and nitrogen-neon laser irradiation of the semilunar ganglion, which can have a relieving and therapeutic effect. To control this disease, patients can also use the method of seven-leaf vine, which uses wild papaya, a kind of herbal medicine. The analgesic effect is quite good. Patients can take it orally. The usage and dosage should be based on the patient's personal situation and taken under the guidance of a doctor. Patients should not make blind choices.

A small number of patients may experience symptoms such as dry mouth, upper abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, and mild dizziness, but these symptoms will recover automatically after stopping the medication. If it is used in combination with drugs such as phenytoin sodium and carbamazepine, the therapeutic effect can be greatly improved.

Prevention and daily care of trigeminal neuralgia

1. Eat regularly and choose soft and easy-to-chew foods. Patients who experience pain due to chewing should eat liquid food, and must not eat fried food. They should avoid eating irritating food, overly sour or sweet food, or hot food. The diet should be nutritious, and they should eat more foods rich in vitamins and those that have the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. They should eat more fresh fruits, vegetables and soy products, eat less fat and more lean meat, and light food is preferred.

2. Be gentle when eating, rinsing your mouth, talking, brushing your teeth, and washing your face. So as to avoid triggering the trigger point and causing trigeminal neuralgia.

3. Keep your head and face warm, avoid local freezing and moisture, and do not wash your face with too cold or too hot water. You should keep your emotions stable at ordinary times, not get excited, not get tired and stay up late, listen to soft music, be calm, and get enough sleep.

4. Keep a happy spirit and avoid mental stimulation; try to avoid touching "trigger points"; maintain a regular living routine, and the indoor environment should be quiet, clean, and have fresh air. At the same time, the bedroom is protected from wind and cold. Participate in sports appropriately, exercise and enhance your physical fitness.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment for Trigeminal Neuralgia

1. Treatment with Chinese medicine

The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, a classic ancient Chinese medical book, believes that trigeminal neuralgia belongs to the category of "headache", "migraine", "facial pain", etc., and the names "head wind", "brain wind", and "head wind" are recorded in ancient medical books, such as "Su Wen*Wind Theory": "The symptoms of head wind are sweating on the head and face and aversion to wind. The disease will be severe one day before the wind." Because only wind can reach the top of the head, the external wind and cold evil will seek out the meridians and invade the clear orifices at the top of the head to cause this disease. Mental factors can also induce this disease. Liver depression and qi stagnation, which turns to fire over time, and the fire and wind move. The wind and fire mixed with phlegm disturb the clear yang and prevent it from stretching. The head is the meeting point of all yang, and the essence of the five internal organs and six bowels, qi and blood all gather in the head. All kinds of evil qi, wind, fire, phlegm, dampness, and blood invade the meridians, and phlegm blocks blood stasis, qi stagnation and blood coagulation, blocking the meridians and causing "pain due to obstruction".

2. Acupuncture Treatment

1. Ordinary acupuncture therapy Acupuncture treatment is easy to use in clinical practice, safe and fast, with few side effects. Main acupoints: Fengchi, Yifeng, Xiaguan, Shousanli, Hegu. Acupoint combination: For pain in the first branch, add Taiyang, Yangbai, Laozhu and Touwei. For pain in the second and third limbs, add Taiyang, Sibai, Xiaguan, Tinghui, Dicang, Chengjiang and Yingxiang. Perform heavy stimulation and leave the needle in place.

2. Acupuncture of the peripheral branches of the trigeminal nerve: Acupuncture the supraorbital foramen, infraorbital foramen, posterior superior alveolar foramen and mental foramen. Directly acupuncture the peripheral branches of the trigeminal nerve until pain and numbness and swelling appear in the distribution area of ​​the ipsilateral branch, and a rapid analgesic effect is achieved. The acupuncture technique used is lifting, inserting, twisting and strong stimulation, regardless of Yin or Yang tonification or drainage. Patients who are receiving acupuncture for the first time should be in the supine position and the technique should be light to avoid causing needle dizziness or fear.

3. Use bee acupuncture therapy: The bee sting liquid contained in bee stings has a significant effect on the nervous system. Combining acupuncture principles with acupoint selection for treatment often produces good results.

Western medicine treatment of trigeminal neuralgia

Treatment principles for primary trigeminal neuralgia: After a clear diagnosis, drug treatment should be the first choice, and non-drug treatment should be used when drug treatment is ineffective.

3. Drug treatment

Drug treatment must be regular, and when drug treatment is ineffective or only partially effective, the diagnosis must be reconsidered. If the diagnosis is correct, the medication method is appropriate, or the drug has serious toxic and side effects, other drugs can be used instead; if multiple drug treatments are still ineffective, non-drug treatment should be considered.

(1) Carbamazepine: In 1962, Blom first reported the use of carbamazepine to treat facial pain. Carbamazepine is currently the drug of choice for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. Its mechanism is to reduce the response of neurons in the trigeminal nucleus of the spinal cord to stimulation. Initially take 200 mg, 1 to 2 times a day. If symptoms cannot be controlled, increase the dosage by 100 mg per day until pain is relieved or adverse reactions occur. The maximum daily dose is 1000-1600 mg. Adverse reactions occur in about 30% of cases. Some are dose-dependent, such as dizziness, drowsiness, nystagmus, etc.; others are non-dose-dependent, such as drug-induced hepatitis, bone marrow suppression, hyponatremia, congestive heart failure, rash, etc. Pregnant women should not use it. Periodic monitoring of blood counts is necessary, once a week for the first two months and then four times a year. Dose adjustment mainly depends on the degree of relief of clinical symptoms and whether adverse reactions occur; blood drug concentration measurement is not helpful.

(2) Phenytoin sodium: In 1942, Bergouignan first used phenytoin sodium to treat facial pain. Its mechanism may also be to reduce the response of neurons in the spinal trigeminal nucleus to stimulation. Currently it is only used for cases of relapse or intolerance to carbamazepine, 200-500 mg/d. Unlike anti-epileptic treatments, blood drug levels do not correlate with pain control efficacy. Adverse reactions include rash, liver damage, bone marrow suppression, etc.

(3) Seven-leaf lily: It is a kind of herb of the genus Chaenomeles in the family Akebia, also known as false lychee. The analgesic effect is about 60%. Oral administration, 0.4 g each time, 4 times/d. There are no serious adverse reactions. A few may experience dry mouth, upper abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, mild dizziness, etc., which can be recovered after stopping the drug. Combination with phenytoin sodium and carbamazepine can improve the efficacy.

(4) Baclofen: a derivative of GABA. The mechanism of action may be that it binds to the GABA receptor before the synapse, inhibiting the release of excitatory amino acids, inhibiting monosynaptic and polysynaptic reflexes, and relieving spasticity. 5mg/time, 3 times/d. Common adverse reactions include nausea, rash, dizziness, drowsiness, liver function effects, and epilepsy induction.

2. Physical therapy: intermittent electrokinetic (sparse-dense wave) therapy or gyromagnetic therapy can be used. Laser therapy can also be used, using a nitrogen-neon laser to irradiate the semilunar ganglion.