Post-herpetic neuralgia is pain that occurs:

• A. Only during blisters
• B. Along a nerve after blister disappearance
• C. In stomach
• D. In joints

Answer: (B)

Post-herpetic neuralgia is persistent neuropathic pain that follows the distribution of the affected nerve after the shingles lesions have healed. The varicella-zoster virus damages sensory nerves during the outbreak, and even when the blisters disappear, some nerve fibers can continue sending pain signals, leading ongoing pain in the same dermatome. This is why the description is pain along a nerve after the blisters have resolved. It isn’t confined to the time of blistering, and it doesn’t occur in the stomach or joints. For example, shingles affecting the chest can leave a band of painful sensation along that chest dermatome even after the rash is gone. Management focuses on controlling nerve pain with appropriate medications and addressing the acute outbreak promptly to reduce risk.