Post Herpetic Neuralgia or 'PHN' is an outbreak of
the herpes
zoster virus (shingles). Shingles is a red rash
that blisters and leaves bumps on the skin which can
be very painful. Post Herpetic Neuralgia is a second
outbreak of the varicella
zoster virus and can affect the body by causing
extreme pain without actually having the shingles
blisters. Shingles itself is a virus which comes from
the chickenpox virus. If someone has had the chickenpox
as a child, as most people have, then the virus can
resurface. .
Chickenpox never leaves the cells; it can appear as
shingles later in life as the cells can let the virus
escape due to old age, or having an immune deficiency
system problem. PHN causes pain to the nerve fibers
in the skin and can last for a long time after a shingles
outbreak has left the body. PHN can cause the body
to be very sensitive to the slightest touch and cause
extreme pain.
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How does a person know they have PHN?
If a person has had shingles before, they will know that the pain lasts anywhere from 1-3 months after the shingles have haled and gone away. Some people experience permanent scarring and discoloration to the skin as a result of severe cases of shingles. PHN also called the varicella-zoster virus occurs in the skin and it can severely damage nerve cells and cause the brain to receive nerve messages as pain. Some will experience severe pain due to touch, change in temperature, and wind. Even putting on clothes can bring a person to experience unbearable pain all over. A doctor will be able to tell you for sure if you have post herpetic neuralgia.
Who gets PHN?
Anyone who has had chickenpox in their lifetime can
get shingles and if the shingles are bad enough or
even in random cases a person can develop Post
Herpetic Neuralgia. It is estimated about 1 in
5 people will develop post herpetic neuralgia in their
life. Most of these people will be of an older age
or have had been diagnosed with some sort of immune
deficiency virus such as AIDS. Not everyone will get
shingles, and not everyone will go through the pain
of having PHN. Post herpetic neuralgia can last anywhere
from months to years. Many people over 60 will experience
the varicella-zoster virus. Keep in mind there is
no cure for post herpetic neuralgia, you cannot fix
the damaged nerve endings but there are ways to manage
the outbreaks and pain of the virus.
Go
to our Shingles Treatment page
Resources
* www.mayoclinic.com
* www.aftershingles.com
