Post-herpetic neuralgia

Description:

Post-herpetic neuralgia (PGN) – the most frequent complication of a herpesviridae infection, especially at elderly  people and at patients with reduced immunity. This complication is observed at 50% of patients 60 years are more senior.

Symptoms of Post-herpetic neuralgia:

At the surrounding herpes allocate three phases of pain: 1. An acute pain (acute herpetic neuralgia) — the first 30 days after emergence of rashes; 2. Subacute herpetic neuralgia — the pain remaining from 1 to 3 months; 3. Post-herpetic neuralgia (PGN) — the pain remaining 120 days later and more from emergence of rashes. Rashes at Herpes zoster (shingles) are most often localized on a trunk and the head, is more rare on hands and legs. The period of rashes and the neuralgic period is followed by a set of somatosensory frustration, including a dizesteziya (unpleasant pathological feelings which can be spontaneous or caused), allodynia (pain, arises in response to bezbolevy an incentive, for example, a light touch) and a hyperalgesia (developing of pain, excessive on intensity, in response to a usual painful irritant). Post-herpetic neuralgia is followed by disturbance of appetite and a dream, emotional frustration, an adynamy.

Reasons of Post-herpetic neuralgia:

Carry to major factors of risk of emergence of PGN: age, a female, intensive and weight of pain in a prodromal stage, gravity of acute skin rashes. All these factors are in interrelation therefore patients of 50 years also are more senior in most cases feel heavy, intolerable pain and considerable skin rashes that leads to development of PGN much more often. Post-herpetic neuralgia takes the third place on occurrence frequency among various types of neuropathic pain and concedes only to lower back pains and a diabetic neuropathy.

Treatment of Post-herpetic neuralgia:

Medical tactics at herpes zoster includes two main directions: 1. antiviral therapy; 2. stopping of neuropathic pain, both during the acute period of a disease, and in a stage of post-herpetic neuralgia.
Antiviral therapy — the most widely used and obligatory component in treatment of the acute period of herpes zoster. It is important that antiviral treatment shows the highest activity if it is begun within 72 hours from the beginning of herpetic rashes. At a stage of rashes optimum parenteral administration of drugs which demands finding of the patient in a hospital and constant medical control. Together with medicamentous therapy acupuncture, physical therapy is appointed.