Issue 50.12
Shingles is a viral infection that reactivates chickenpox (herpes zoster) in the body. This ailment can cause a painful rash to develop along the chest and abdomen in the form of fluid-filled blisters. Individuals who had chicken pox as children are susceptible to developing shingles later in life.
Patients who experience ongoing pain after the shingles rash has disappeared may suffer from a chronic pain condition called postherpetic neuralgia. There is no cure for postherpetic neuralgia, but there are interventional treatment options available to either reduce or eliminate pain symptoms.
What Does Chronic Pain From Shingles Feel Like?
Some patients experience pain before their rash develops, but most will feel pain in conjunction with their shingles rash, which can appear on the waist, chest, back, arms, or shoulders.
For the first five days, patients with shingles may experience a burning or tingling pain that causes itchiness or numbness on one side of the body. Once the rash develops, pain may be felt intermittently for 3 to 5 weeks. The disease will eventually run its course, and the fluid-filled blisters caused by the virus will dry up, crust over, and become scabs.
Pain that continues after the rash has gone away is considered to be post-herpetic neuralgia. This condition can produce the following symptoms:
- Pain, burning, numbness, and tingling around the affected area
- Depression, insomnia, and anxiety
- Fever, chills, and mild headaches
Postherpetic neuralgia is a complication of shingles. This condition is the result of damaged nerve fibers near a shingles outbreak. While postherpetic neuralgia is somewhat rare, patients over the age of 50 who suffer from chronic illnesses, have a suppressed immune system, or experience a severe case of shingles are more likely to be affected by this condition.
Treatments For Chronic Shingles Pain
As previously mentioned, there is no cure for postherpetic neuralgia. Nevertheless, there are medications and interventional pain therapies available to help alleviate symptoms. The pain management specialists at Southwest Spine and Pain Center may recommend medications such as antiviral medication or additional pain medication such as Gabapentin to manage a patient’s shingles pain. Other treatment options may include topical ointments or skin patches containing lidocaine or capsaicin, or steroid injections. Spinal Cord Stimulation therapy may also be a treatment option.
The pain management specialists at Southwest Spine and Pain Center are committed to quality patient care. If you or someone you know suffers from chronic shingles pain, call Southwest Spine and Pain Center to schedule an appointment today!
Rick Obray can be contacted SW Spine and Pain Center, 435-619.8630.
About Dr. Rick Obray
After completing a spine and musculoskeletal fellowship at Johns Hopkins, Rick Obray, M.D. then completed an interventional pain fellowship at Mayo Clinic, making him one of the few physicians in the country to complete fellowship training in both pain medicine and diagnostic imaging. With this expertise and his clinical experience, Dr. Obray offers the latest in minimally invasive image guided procedures, is an active clinical research investigator, and brings a unique multidisciplinary perspective to his patients.