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Postherpetic Neuralgia
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a painful condition that affects nerve fibers and skin. It's a complication of shingles, a second outbreak of the varicella-zoster virus more commonly associated with chicken pox.After a bout of chicken pox, some of the virus can remain in the body, lying dormant inside nerve cells. Years later, factors such as age, illness, stress or medications can reactivate the virus, causing shingles.
Upon reactivation, the virus travels along nerve fibers, causing pain. When the virus reaches your skin, it produces a rash and blisters. A case of shingles (also know as herpes zoster) usually heals within a month. The pain of postherpetic neuralgia, however, can continue long after the rash and blisters heal.
PHN is a result of nerve fibers being damaged during the shingles outbreak. Damaged fibers aren't able to send messages from the skin to the brain as they normally do. Instead, the messages become confused and exaggerated, causing chronic, often excruciating pain that may persist for months — or even years — in the area where shingles first occurred.
Not everyone who gets shingles develops postherpetic neuralgia but the older the patient is when the virus reactivates, the greater the chance of developing PHN.
Symptoms of postherpetic neuralgia are generally limited to the area of skin where the shingles outbreak first occurred. They may include:
In rare cases, you may also experience muscle weakness or paralysis if the nerves involved also control muscle movement.
In most people, the pain of postherpetic neuralgia lessens over time. In the meantime — especially if symptoms are addressed early — treatments for postherpetic neuralgia can ease nerve-related pain.
PHN can result in severe pain. In such cases, a nerve block may be ordered to ease the discomfort.
We Can Help
The physicians at the Northwest Surgical Specialists Pain Management Center are experts at diagnosing the need for and delivering soothing pain medicine exactly where it will result in maximum relief.
If you or a loved one is suffering the painful effects of postherpetic neuralgia or shingles, contact the Pain Management Center at 847.885.9525 to arrange a consultation.
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