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Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is neuropathic pain that occurs due to damage to a peripheral nerve caused by the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (herpes zoster, also known as shingles). PHN is defined as pain in a dermatomal distribution that lasts for at least 90 days after an outbreak of herpes zoster. [ 1 ]
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster or zona, [6] is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. [2] [7] Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. [1]
A zoster vaccine is a vaccine that reduces the incidence of herpes zoster (shingles), a disease caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, which is also responsible for chickenpox. [8] Shingles provokes a painful rash with blisters, and can be followed by chronic pain (postherpetic neuralgia), as well as other
The disease is usually more severe in adults than in children. [9] Chickenpox is an airborne disease which easily spreads via human-to-human transmission, typically through the coughs and sneezes of an infected person. [5] The incubation period is 10–21 days, after which the characteristic rash appears. [2]
It causes chickenpox (varicella) commonly affecting children and young adults, and shingles (herpes zoster) in adults but rarely in children. As a late complication of VZV infection, Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 2 may develop in rare cases. VZV infections are species-specific to humans. The virus can survive in external environments for a few hours.
However, the risk of getting shingles from vaccine-strain VZV after chickenpox vaccination is much lower than getting shingles after natural infection with wild-type VZV." [43] The risk of shingles is significantly lower among children who have received varicella vaccination, including those who are immunocompromised.
Herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), also known as ophthalmic zoster, is shingles involving the eye or the surrounding area. Common signs include a rash of the forehead with swelling of the eyelid . There may also be eye pain and redness, inflammation of the conjunctiva , cornea or uvea , and sensitivity to light .