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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffDuring an initial infection of chickenpox, some of the virus can remain dormant in some of your body's nerve cells. Years later, the virus may reactivate, causing shingles.
Postherpetic neuralgia occurs if your nerve fibers are damaged during an outbreak of shingles. Damaged fibers aren't able to send messages from your skin to your brain as they normally do. Instead, the messages become confused and exaggerated, causing chronic, often excruciating pain that may persist for months — or even years.
- Bajwa ZH, et al. Postherpetic neuralgia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 11, 2010.
- Sampathkumar P, et al. Herpes zoster (shingles) and postherpetic neuralgia. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2009;84:274.
- Treatment of postherpetic neuralgia. In: Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00021-3--s0825&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00021-3--s0845&uniq=188689159&isbn=978-0-7234-3541-9&sid=966992901#lpState=opened&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00021-3--st0755%3Bfrom%3Dcontent%3Bisbn%3D978-0-7234-3541-9%3Btype%3DbookPage. Accessed March 12, 2010.
- Vora A, et al. Postherpetic neuralgia. In: Frontera WR, et al. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/188689159-4/966996765/1678/116.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4007-1..50103-6_1654. Accessed March 12, 2010.
- Martin DM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 22, 2010.
- Practice parameter: Treatment of postherpetic neuralgia. St. Paul, Minn.: Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. http://www.guidelines.gov/summary/summary.aspx?doc_id=5989&nbr=003947&string=postherpetic. Accessed March 12, 2010.
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