The Worst-Case Scenario for Shingles: Postherpetic Neuralgia
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The Worst-Case Scenario for Shingles: Postherpetic Neuralgia
In some cases, the symptoms of shingles are unresponsive to treatment and progress to become long-term problems. Postherpetic neuralgia is a potentially debilitating condition that affects the peripheral nervous system and occurs as a result of a shingles outbreak. It affects approximately 10-15% of those individuals who develop shingles. Symptoms are constant burning pain that is brought on by even the slightest contact or movement. The nerve irritation of postherpetic neuralgia can go on for months or years, long after other signs of shingles have disappeared.
Since this side effect of shingles is so painful and is also resistant to treatment, proper and early treatment of the original shingles outbreak is critical to lessen the chances of such as problem developing. 40-50% of people who experience postherpetic neuralgia don't respond to treatment for the condition. Even so, treatment options do exist and should be tried in an attempt to get relief.
Treatment options for this condition include:
- Antidepressants
- Topical anaesthetics
- Anticonvulsant medications
- Opiod-based drug therapy
Comments
11/2/2011 11:36:30 PMJane said:
After the rash disappeared in my case of shingles, I have severe burning pain as well as deep muscle pain in my hip and thigh. The one thing I could count on for instant relief was to soak in a hot bath. I did this as many as 6-8 times per day. As long as I was in the hot water, I had absolutely no pain. The burning pain in my leg had been so intense that I don't know why I ever tried this, but I did. I also got a lot of relief from an over the counter product called BurnGel Plus that contains 5 times the lidocaine of Solarcaine.
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