Question I had shingles once six months ago, and the herpes has slowly disappeared, but the pain continues, sometimes like ants crawling, and I often wake up in the middle of sleep in pain, which makes me restless and my daily work is greatly affected. Is this the only way I can keep on having pain? Answer In pain science, if the pain persists for more than 1 month after the herpes zoster disappears, it is called postherpetic neuralgia. The duration is as short as 1-2 years or as long as 10 years, and without effective pain control methods, the history is usually as long as 3 to 5 years. Postherpetic neuralgia is complicated by shingles in 10% of patients with shingles, and the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia can be as high as 50%-75% in elderly patients over 60 years of age. The clinical manifestations of postherpetic neuralgia are: abnormal sensation, nociception, and tactile sensation that are clearly distributed according to the area of innervation, and local pigmentation changes may be present. The pain is spontaneous slash-like or lightning-like episodic pain or persistent burning pain or tight bundle-like pain. The goal of postherpetic neuralgia treatment is to relieve pain, reduce depression and anxiety, improve sleep, and improve quality of life. For the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia, our pain clinic uses a combination of therapies, including intravenous infusion of analgesic drugs, nerve blocks, psychological guidance, oral and topical medications, etc. The treatment efficiency is over 90%. We hope that patients with shingles will seek medical attention in time to relieve their pain as soon as possible. It should be noted that in order to avoid postherpetic neuralgia, active treatment should be given during the acute phase of the disease, including the use of antiviral drugs, analgesics, neurotrophic drugs, and topical medications. The principles of treatment in the acute phase of herpes zoster are: early antiviral treatment, active treatment of pain, local protection, and prevention of secondary infection. It is recommended that patients visit the pain clinic during the acute phase and use comprehensive treatment methods to relieve pain in a timely and effective manner. This will not only relieve patients from acute neuralgia, but also effectively prevent the occurrence of post-herpetic neuralgia.