Those who are 60 and older are most likely to suffer from postherpetic neuralgia. Individuals who have weakened immune systems and diabetics are also more susceptible to both shingles and postherpetic neuralgia. Postherpetic neuralgia pain most commonly affects the skin over the patient's rib cage, but can also affect other parts of the body. Many patients develop extreme sensitivity and cannot tolerate contact between the affected skin and clothing or bedding. Some patients lose sensation in the affected area.
Postherpetic neuralgia is the result of nerve damage caused by shingles.
Once an individual has had chicken pox, the virus that causes that disease lies dormant in the dorsal root ganglia, nerve tissue at each side of the spinal cord. Shingles results when the virus becomes reactivated, which can occur when immune mechanisms are weakened, and travels through the sensory nerves to the skin, where it produces a painful rash. The shingles virus can damage nerves in the dorsal root ganglia. Postherpetic neuralgia is the condition in which damaged nerves cause pain to persist after the skin rash has cleared up. The most important factor in treating postherpetic neuralgia is that the treatment begin early.