HIGHLIGHTS ON HERPETIC NEURALGIA

Herpetic pain is devastating sequelae of infection with herpes zoster virus (HZV). The virus is responsible for the occurrence of chicken pox during childhood, neuralgia typically begins when herpes zoster vesicles starts to crust and begun to heal. Post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a prolonged painful neuropathic condition; that affects a specific dermatome in the body that follows acute herpetic illness. Pain is provoked by trivial stimuli, and accompanied by altered sensation that may continue long after its characteristic rash has healed. Many approaches have been proposed to alleviate the pain of herpetic infection and to stop its progression to post-herpetic neuralgia. Few of these approaches have been proved beneficial but in many instances treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia remain a source of frustration for both patients and physicians once the syndrome has developed, and post-herpetic neuralgia will remain challenging and debilitating complication. Within recent years the interest within the pain community in PHN has grown steadily. Epidemiology: The annual incidence of herpes zoster varies with age and immune status, from a range of 0.4 to 1.6 cases per 1000 among healthy people under the age of 20 years to 4.5 to 11 cases per 1000 among those 80 years or older.