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Diagnosis of complications of varicella-zoster, particularly in cases where the disease reactivates after years or decades of latency, is difficult. A rash (shingles) can be present or absent. Symptoms vary, and there is a significant overlap in symptoms with herpes-simplex symptoms. [122]
PHN typically begins when the herpes zoster vesicles have crusted over and begun to heal, but can begin in the absence of herpes zoster—a condition called zoster sine herpete. There is no treatment that modifies the disease course of PHN; therefore, controlling the affected person's symptoms is the main goal of treatment.
Varicella zoster virus (VZV), also known as human herpesvirus 3 (HHV-3, HHV3) or Human alphaherpesvirus 3 (taxonomically), is one of nine known herpes viruses that can infect humans. It causes chickenpox (varicella) commonly affecting children and young adults, and shingles (herpes zoster) in adults but rarely in children.
What it looks like: Also known as herpes zoster, shingles is a blistering rash. It often appears in a stripe or in the top quadrant of the head, but only on one side of the body.
Reactivation of VZV results in the clinically distinct syndrome of herpes zoster (i.e., shingles), postherpetic neuralgia, [31] and sometimes Ramsay Hunt syndrome type II. [32] Varicella zoster can affect the arteries in the neck and head, producing stroke, either during childhood, or after a latency period of many years. [33]
Preherpetic neuralgia is a form of nerve pain specifically associated with a Shingles (herpes zoster) viral infection. This nerve pain often precedes visible indications of a Shingles infection and consequently can be a key early indicator of a need to begin preventative anti-viral drug therapy.
It may reactivate under conditions of physiological stress or if the immune system is suppressed in any way (for example during an illness or undergoing chemotherapy), resulting in herpes zoster, also known as shingles or Ramsay Hunt syndrome when facial paralysis in involved. If the nerve cells affected lie within the facial nerves, it causes ...
Treatment is generally with antiviral pills such as acyclovir. Steroid eye drops and drops to dilate the pupil may also be used. The herpes zoster vaccine is recommended for prevention in those over the age of 50. [2] HZO is the second most common manifestation of shingles, the first being involvement of skin of the thorax.