Postherpetic neuralgia: Treatment, symptoms, and causes

Best homeopathy hospitals in Hyderabad have excellent facilities for the treatment of Postherpetic neuralgia and patients can avail best homeopathic treatment in Hyderabad.

Postherpetic neuralgia happens to be a painful condition that does affect one’s nerve fibers as well as skin. It is a complication of shingles, and shingles is a complication of chickenpox.

If the pain caused by shingles continues after the bout of shingles gets over, it is referred to as post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN)

Treatment can be had at the best homeopathy hospitals in Hyderabad

Treatment

Treatment will much depend on the type of pain as well as the patient’s physical, neurological, as well as mental health. The best homeopathic treatment in Hyderabad can be had.

Drug treatments

Postherpetic neuralgia can indeed cause severe pain in people who suffered from shingles.

Painkillers:

These may indeed include tramadol (Ultram) or oxycodone (OxyContin). There is a small risk of dependency.

Anticonvulsants:

The pain of PHN can be reduced with anticonvulsants, as they are effective at calming one’s nerve impulses. They stabilize abnormal electrical activity in a person’s nervous system caused by injured nerves. 

Steroids:

Corticosteroid medication is injected into one’s area around the spinal cord. 

Lidocaine skin patches:

Lidocaine is a common local anesthetic as well as an anti-arrhythmic drug that relieves itching, burning, and pain from inflammation when applied to one’s skin. 

Antidepressants:

These affect one’s key brain chemicals, such as serotonin as well as norepinephrine, which do influence how the body interprets pain. 

The best homeopathy hospitals in Hyderabad are well equipped to treat the condition.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

This treatment does involve placing electrodes over one’s areas where pain does occur. These emit small electrical impulses and the patient does turn the TENS device on and off as per requirement.

Some people do find that TENS does relieve pain, while others do not. Its effectiveness has not really been confirmed by research.

Spinal cord or peripheral nerve stimulation

These devices do offer a safe, efficient, as well as effective way to relieve several types of neuropathic pain conditions. Similar to TENS, they are also implanted under one’s skin along the course of peripheral nerves. Before implantation, doctors do a trial run making use of a thin wire electrode to determine patient response.

Symptoms

After the signs of shingles have gone, nerve pain may indeed remain.

Symptoms are:

• occasional sharp burning, shooting, jabbing pain
• extreme sensitivity to touch
• constant burning, throbbing, or aching pain
• extreme sensitivity to temperature change
• itching
• numbness
• headaches

In rare cases, there may be muscle weakness or even paralysis.

Symptoms do make it hard to carry out some daily activities, such as bathing or even dressing. PHN may also cause fatigue as well as sleeping difficulties.

Causes

PHN happens to be a persistent nerve pain that can indeed occur as a result of shingles. Shingles are then caused by the herpes varicella-zoster virus, the virus is known to cause chickenpox. After a person does recover from chickenpox, the virus does remain inactive in the nervous system.

Later in life, the herpes varicella-zoster virus may become reactivated, thus causing shingles. Shingles are considered to be an infection of a nerve and the area of skin around it. Usually, the nerves of the chest as well and abdomen on one side of the body are affected.

Experts do believe that shingles do cause scar tissue to form next to one’s nerves, thus creating pressure. This makes the nerves send inaccurate signals, and many of them actually being pain signals, to the brain. It is rather not very clear as to why some patients develop PHN.

Prevention

Early treatment is key for preventing PHN. Seeking medical help as soon as signs or symptoms of shingles appear can greatly reduce the chances of developing neuralgia.

Vaccination is recommended to prevent chickenpox and shingles.

It is worth visiting the best homeopathy hospitals in Hyderabad for the required treatment.