Postherpetic Neuralgia – Symptoms, causes and Treatment

The condition that we will cover today in this article is Postherpetic Neuralgia, causes of Postherpetic Neuralgia and Postherpetic Neuralgia symptoms. We will try to answer your question of what could be some Postherpetic Neuralgia pain management techniques and also try to define the relationship between shingles nerve pain and Postherpetic Neuralgia. Before moving onto Symptoms, Causes and Treatment, let us first give you a brief about what Postherpetic Neuralgia actually is

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What is Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN)?

Postherpetic Neuralgia, the most common complication of the condition called Shingles (a skin outburst forming extreme rashes at particular spots of the body due to viral infection). Remember, chickenpox and the above condition have the same responsible virus, and when the virus becomes reactive, it can cause Shingles (also called herpes zoster) in your body which is then followed by Postherpetic Neuralgia after some time.

For prevention of both chickenpox and shingles and hence PHN, Vaccines are used.

• For symptom management, certain medications are given.
  
• And in some, PHN is seen to go away gradually by itself.
  
• Usually, Shingles causes an outburst of extremely painful rashes on one side of the body in a pattern of parallel bands.
  
• The usually affected area is the central core of the body i.e, the area between your chest and hip.

With time, Shingles(or rashes) go away but the pain remains the same, the pain gets worse with time and hence this painful condition post shingles is called Postherpetic Neuralgia.

Postherpetic Neuralgia Risk Factors

A weak Immune System

Suppose you have suffered from chickenpox once in your life, and the condition got cured, but as you age, the immune system gets weakened with time and hence it can allow the same existing virus in the body to reactivate and cause Shingles and hence the PHN.

Other than age, Cancer and infections like HIV can also weaken your immune system and  lead to formation of rashes and hence the pain of PHN.

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Very Severe Shingles

If you have developed extreme rashes on your body, then there are high chances that once the condition gets cured, you are going to suffer from Postherpetic Neuralgia.

Stopped Antiviral Treatment after the rashes(Shingles) got cured

If you stopped seeing your doctor after the shingles rashes went away and are not taking precautionary antiviral drugs, you might soon experience Postherpetic Neuralgia pain symptoms.

Older Adults

The elderly individuals or the senior citizens are always at a higher risk of getting the virus reactivated inside their body and not being able to prevent the process because of their weakened immune system with the rising age.

Postherpetic Neuralgia Symptoms

• Constant Itching at the spots where Shingles rashes were prominent.

• Slight touch or contact at the affected skin area can trigger pain and other related symptoms of PHN.

• A three month constant pain, the pain due to PHN generally lasts for a long time period of three months where one experiences extreme pains at the affected areas.

• Numbness at the affected area.

• Temperature fluctuations make the pain even worse, especially at the night time.

Postherpetic Neuralgia Causes

As we have told you above that Shingles is caused by the Chickenpox virus and if you have had suffered with chickenpox in the past, the virus remains in your body and can reactivate in the later stages of life and leading to PHN ultimately.

Virus Responsible – Varicella Zoster Virus

20% of people who suffer from Shingles or Herpes zoster also develop PHN.

Postherpetic Neuralgia Treatment 

If you have reached till the PHN then obviously Shingles were not caught early and were not treated in the early stages. In such a case doctors might treat your pain related symptoms with various methods

For Severe Pain 

• The doctor may prescribe some Anti Seizure drugs such as Gabapentin(Gralise for eg.) and Pregabalin(Lyrica for eg.).

• You might also be treated with Botox Injections in the affected area.

• In extreme cases, the healthcare provider may also prescribe antidepressants such as Amitriptyline or others.

For Tolerable Pain

• The doctor might prescribe creams and patches such as Lidocaine(Lidoderm for eg.) and Capsaicin(Zostrix for eg.).

• NSAIDs such as Advil and Motrin can also be prescribed where the major salt is ibuprofen.

• The doctor may provide Opioids in very severe cases for pain relief but under continuous monitoring as Opiods have multiple side effects.

• In some cases where other forms of medications don’t work, doctors also give Steroid Injection Shots into the spine of the patient resulting in the pain relief.

Note: Capsaicin is a pain relief cream available at the med stores for treatment of PHN pain which can be applied without prescription for getting pain relief but remember not to apply the cream in the unaffected area and also clearly read the instructions mentioned on the cream packaging.

Conclusion

Hope we have now answered your questions of what is Postherpetic Neuralgia and what are Postherpetic Neuralgia treatment options. The treatment section also gives an answer on how to manage postherpetic neuralgia pain. We also gave you a descriptive view about Postherpetic Neuralgia Causes and Risk factors. Hope you now have enough information regarding the condition and its treatment. You can now visit your healthcare provider as soon as possible to get relief from the extreme painful sensations in the areas you had Shingles once. Thank You.

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