POSTHERPETIC NEURALGİA
Zona pain (postherpetic neuralgia = PHN) is a disorder associated with severe neuropathic pain in a certain nerve area. In the majority of patients, it causes severe impairment in the quality of life. A large number of medications and interventional therapies may be needed in treatment.
What is the reason?
The main cause of shingles is watery virus. In the defense cells of people who have had watery hair in the past, this virus remains trapped. However, it can not be cleaned completely from the body. Years later, as a result of the immune system collapsing due to a number of reasons, this virus is released and can cause this disturbance we call zona. The main factors leading to the demise of the immune system are diseases such as old age, cancer treatment - chemotherapy, AIDS.
How are the symptoms diagnosed and how?
The most important symptom of shingles disease is the swollen red patches seen along the path of the nerves in the affected skin area. A few days before these lesions appear, headache, fever, fatigue, light disturbance and sensitivity to the skin can be seen. 1-2 weeks after the onset of skin lesions, neuralgia (neuralgia) starts. Burning, extreme tenderness and severe pain are felt in the affected skin area.
Zoster Treatment
The treatment of shingles disease should be evaluated in two groups. Acute and chronic periodic treatments are different. During the initial period of the disease, antiviral drugs are given to prevent the growth of zona virus. Cortisone may also be beneficial in this period.
In the chronic period, that is, when the skin lesions are diminished and severe pain is seen, many drugs and interventional treatments can be done. Pain medications, neuropathic pain medications, morphine derivatives, depression medications may be beneficial. Nervous blocks, epidural, spinal injections, paravertebral blocks and spinal cord stimulation methods can be applied for interventional therapies.
In summary shingles treatment;
- Medications that prevent the transmission of shingles virus
- Drugs affecting shingles
- Nerve blocks
- Epidural injections
- Paravertebral blocks
- Spinal cord stimulation