Post-Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) (commonly referred to as “Shingles Pain”; note — the standard clinical term is “neuralgia,” not “neuropathy,” though the two are related)
Word parts:
- herpetic (Greek herpein, “to creep” — referring to the creeping/spreading pattern of the herpes zoster rash)
- neuralgia (Greek neuron “nerve” + algos “pain”)
Definition:
Persistent or recurrent pain confined to the dermatome previously affected by a herpes zoster (shingles) outbreak, continuing after the rash and acute infection have resolved — commonly defined as pain persisting in the same dermatome after the rash has fully healed, sometimes for months or years The initiating event is the herpes zoster episode itself; the ongoing pain is attributed to lasting alterations in peripheral and central nervous system processing (peripheral sensitization, deafferentation, central sensitization) rather than continued viral activity. Pain is typically described as burning, stabbing, or aching, often with allodynia in the affected dermatome.
Source:
Dictionary entries (Dorland’s, Stedman’s, Taber’s) for “postherpetic neuralgia” generally give the short definition without mechanism detail; the mechanism explanation above reflects standard pain-medicine literature (e.g., IASP materials) rather than a single dictionary source