DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.
After herpes zoster and often beyond the period of the actual skin changes, persistent, often unbearable, segmental pain with a typical, shooting-in character, also called postzosteric or postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).
Postzosteric neuralgia is a neuropathic pain syndrome that persists for more than 4 weeks and does not occur until 3 months (>90 days) after the typical skin lesions, after a pain-free interval. Postzosteric neuralgia can significantly affect the quality of life of affected individuals. About 10-30% of all >50-year-olds develop this complication of zoster. The pain is variously perceived as:
persistent
irregularly recurring
shooting in like a flash (as with light electric shocks)
allodynic at the slightest touch.
For further details see below. Zoster neuralgia
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