Can you get shingles on the trigeminal nerve?

Orofacial acute herpes zoster (shingles) is an acute viral disease affecting the trigeminal nerve (CN V). It is the result of reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) that remained dormant in the trigeminal nerve root ganglion following exposure or clinical manifestation of chickenpox.

Which facial nerves are affected by shingles?

Ramsay Hunt syndrome (herpes zoster oticus) occurs when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near one of your ears. In addition to the painful shingles rash, Ramsay Hunt syndrome can cause facial paralysis and hearing loss in the affected ear.

Where are the nerve lines for shingles?

The shingles rash commonly occurs on one side of the trunk of your body. It often appears as a band of blisters that wraps from the middle of your back around one side of your chest to your breastbone, following the path of the nerve where the virus has been dormant.

What nerve is affected by shingles?

When shingles affects the facial nerve, this condition is also known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

How does herpes zoster affect the trigeminal nerve root ganglion?

It is the result of reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) that remained dormant in the trigeminal nerve root ganglion following exposure or clinical manifestation of chickenpox. Reactivation could be due to immunosuppression, or it could be age-related.

What causes postherpetic neuralgia ( PHN ) after shingles?

Postherpetic neuralgia refers to the pain syndrome following an episode of shingles, after the rash has resolved. It will occur in approximately 20% of patients over the age of 50. PHN is thought to be the result of nerve damage caused by the spread of the herpes zoster virus during the reactivation phase.

How are shingles spread in the central nervous system?

After an episode of chicken pox, the virus lies dormant in the spine or central nervous system. Once reactivated, the virus spreads along the dermatome of the sensory dorsal root or cranial nerve ganglion. The virus is confined to spreading within a specific nerve, this is what gives shingles their pattern or strip-like appearance.

How to tell if you have shingles or trigeminal neuralgia?

The symptoms include the following : Headache, low grade fever, chills and sweating, malaise, weakness, photophobia, fatigue, etc. This is followed by the pain, then the rash. The lesions can take up to a month to crust over and no longer be infectious to those who never had chickenpox or the vaccine.