Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN)

Introduction

Pos­ther­pet­ic neu­ral­gia (PHN) is a type of nerve pain that can occur after an out­break of shin­gles. Shin­gles is a viral infec­tion that caus­es a painful, blis­ter­ing rash. The virus that caus­es shin­gles is the same virus that caus­es chick­en­pox. Once you have chick­en­pox, the virus stays in your body for the rest of your life. It can become active again lat­er in life and cause shin­gles.

PHN is a com­mon com­pli­ca­tion of shin­gles. It occurs in about 10 to 20% of peo­ple who have shin­gles. The risk of PHN increas­es with age. Most peo­ple who devel­op PHN are over 50 years old.

Description

The symp­toms of PHN can vary from per­son to per­son. The most com­mon symp­tom is pain. The pain can be described as burn­ing, stab­bing, or aching. It can be con­stant or inter­mit­tent. The pain can be severe enough to inter­fere with sleep and dai­ly activ­i­ties.

Oth­er symp­toms of PHN can include:

  • Numb­ness or tin­gling in the affect­ed area
  • Itch­ing
  • Sen­si­tiv­i­ty to light touch
  • Changes in skin col­or or tex­ture

How is PHN diagnosed?

The diag­no­sis of PHN is based on your med­ical his­to­ry and a phys­i­cal exam­i­na­tion. Your doc­tor will ask you about your symp­toms and when they start­ed. They will also exam­ine the affect­ed area. If your doc­tor sus­pects PHN, they may order tests to rule out oth­er pos­si­ble caus­es of your pain.

Treatment options

There is no cure for PHN, but there are treat­ments that can help relieve the pain. The goal of treat­ment is to reduce the pain and improve your qual­i­ty of life.

Medications for PHN

There are sev­er­al med­ica­tions that can be used to treat PHN. These med­ica­tions can help reduce the pain and improve your sleep.

Other treatments for PHN

There are oth­er treat­ments that can be used to treat PHN, includ­ing:

  • Top­i­cal treat­ments, such as lido­caine patch­es or creams
  • Acupunc­ture
  • Mas­sage ther­a­py
  • Yoga
  • Med­i­ta­tion

Over-the-counter remedies

There are sev­er­al over-the-counter reme­dies that can be used to relieve the pain of PHN. These include:

  • Pain reliev­ers, such as ibupro­fen or aceta­minophen
  • Top­i­cal treat­ments, such as cap­saicin cream or ice packs

Prescription Medications

Var­i­ous pre­scrip­tion med­ica­tions are also avail­able to help alle­vi­ate the dis­com­fort. Talk to your doc­tor about the best treat­ment options for you.

Holistic options

There are sev­er­al holis­tic options that can be used to treat PHN. These include:

  • Acupunc­ture
  • Mas­sage ther­a­py
  • Yoga
  • Med­i­ta­tion

Conclusion

PHN is a chron­ic con­di­tion, but there are treat­ments that can help relieve the pain. If you have PHN, talk to your doc­tor about the best treat­ment options for you.

Resources for PHN

There are sev­er­al resources avail­able for peo­ple with PHN. These include:

  • The Amer­i­can Chron­ic Pain Asso­ci­a­tion
  • The Nation­al Insti­tute of Neu­ro­log­i­cal Dis­or­ders and Stroke
  • The Amer­i­can Acad­e­my of Neu­rol­o­gy

FAQ

Ques­tion 1: What is Pos­ther­pet­ic Neu­ral­gia (PHN)?

Answer: Pos­ther­pet­ic Neu­ral­gia (PHN) is a type of nerve pain that can occur after an out­break of shin­gles. It is caused by dam­age to the nerve fibers in the skin, which can cause chron­ic pain, burn­ing, numb­ness, and tin­gling.

Ques­tion 2: What are the symp­toms of PHN?

Answer: The most com­mon symp­tom of PHN is chron­ic pain that can range from mild to severe. Oth­er symp­toms include burn­ing, numb­ness, tin­gling, and sen­si­tiv­i­ty to touch.

Ques­tion 3: Who is at risk for PHN?

Answer: Peo­ple who have had shin­gles are at risk for devel­op­ing PHN. The risk increas­es with age, and peo­ple over the age of 50 are more like­ly to devel­op PHN.

Ques­tion 4: How is PHN diag­nosed?

Answer: PHN is usu­al­ly diag­nosed based on a phys­i­cal exam and a review of the patien­t’s med­ical his­to­ry. Your doc­tor may also order tests such as an MRI or CT scan to rule out oth­er con­di­tions.

Ques­tion 5: What treat­ments are avail­able for PHN?

Answer: Treat­ment for PHN may include med­ica­tions, phys­i­cal ther­a­py, nerve blocks, and nerve stim­u­la­tion. In some cas­es, surgery may be nec­es­sary to relieve the pain.

Ques­tion 6: How can I man­age my PHN pain?

Answer: Pain man­age­ment for PHN can include lifestyle changes such as avoid­ing activ­i­ties that may wors­en the pain, using heat or cold ther­a­py, and tak­ing over-the-counter pain med­ica­tions.

Ques­tion 7: Are there any home reme­dies for PHN?

Answer: Yes, there are some home reme­dies that may help relieve PHN pain. These include using a heat­ing pad or cold pack, tak­ing a warm bath, and using relax­ation tech­niques such as med­i­ta­tion or yoga.

Ques­tion 8: Are there any nat­ur­al treat­ments for PHN?

Answer: Yes, there are some nat­ur­al treat­ments that may help relieve PHN pain. These include acupunc­ture, mas­sage ther­a­py, and herbal reme­dies such as cap­saicin cream.

Ques­tion 9: Is there a cure for PHN?

Answer: Unfor­tu­nate­ly, there is no cure for PHN. How­ev­er, there are treat­ments avail­able that can help man­age the pain and reduce the symp­toms.

Ques­tion 10: Are there any sup­port groups for peo­ple with PHN?

Answer: Yes, there are sup­port groups avail­able for peo­ple with PHN. These groups can pro­vide emo­tion­al sup­port and resources to help man­age the pain and cope with the con­di­tion.