Herpes zoster is a common disease and an acute infection that often involves the dorsal root ganglion and the skin innervated by it. Herpes zoster is caused by varicella virus infection. After recovery from childhood varicella infection, the virus is latent in the satellite cells of the dorsal root ganglion and is reactivated when the host immune function is reduced, such as by cold, old age, malignancy, HIV infection, and use of immunosuppressive drugs. Activated proto-dormant viruses can cause a very intense necroinflammatory response in the dorsal root ganglia and dorsal horn of the spinal cord. The virus, in turn, spreads retrogradely along sensory nerve fibers to the skin, causing severe skin pain and blistering, with a distribution of the dermal area consistent with the infected peripheral and central nerves. The clinical manifestations are usually severe neuralgia, segmental blistering rash, rash mostly distributed along a peripheral nerve, arranged in a band, and the preferred site is the intercostal nerve. However, special types of herpes zoster, such as herpes zoster of the eye, herpes zoster of the ear, herpes zoster meningoencephalitis, and herpes zoster of the viscera, should be noted, as these special types of herpes zoster can be serious and some can lead to blindness, deafness, and even death. Acute shingles for more than one month is defined as postherpetic neuralgia. Postherpetic neuralgia is very persistent and remains a world-class pain problem. The duration of pain can be as short as 1-2 years or as long as 10 years, with a general history of 3-5 years. It can cause heavy psychological burden, depression, sleep disorders, poor quality of life, reduced ability to work and socialize, and even loss of confidence in life. The incidence of postherpetic neuralgia is proportional to the increase in age, according to relevant data: 49% for 50-59 years old, 65% for 60-69 years old, and 74% for 70-79 years old. The incidence of post-herpetic neuralgia will continue to increase as the elderly population in China increases. The clinical manifestations of postherpetic neuralgia: there are three types of pain: persistent burning pain, paroxysmal irritation pain, pins-and-needles pain, and also complaints of tactile nociceptive abnormalities. 80-90% of patients have nociceptive abnormalities, such as pain induced by motor stimulation: many patients have severe pain when they put on clothes and rub the skin. Compared to the normal contralateral side, the affected segment has altered skin temperature, cold, thermal pain, touch, pinprick sensation, vibration sensation and two-point position discrimination sensation. In addition to sensory deficits and pain abnormalities, the lesions are usually pigmented and crusted. Treatment of herpes zoster and PHN: 1. Anti-viral drugs for severely immunocompromised patients treated with intravenous acyclovir and sodium chloride phosphonate injection can reduce the risk of complications. Non-steroidal compounds Non-steroidal compounds do not prevent PHN, although they do improve pain in the acute phase. 3. Skin surface medications Many skin surface medications have been successfully used for acute herpes zoster and PHN: including acyclovir ointment and capsaicin ointment. Recently, lidocaine ointment and etofenacin gel have shown to be effective in relieving the pain abnormalities of PHN. 4.Inhibitors of abnormal nerve discharge Drugs such as carbamazepine, gabapentin capsules, pregabalin capsules and oxcarbazepine tablets. 5.Sleeping drugs Phenothiazines and benzodiazepines cannot effectively treat PHN by themselves, but they can be used synergistically with tricyclics and analgesics because of their anti-anxiety and antiemetic effects. 6, nerve block Generally used for herpes zoster pain, this method can focus the drug to the affected ganglion and sensory nerve fibers, this method is called nerve block method. The principle of the nerve block method is to inject drugs that have antagonistic effects on pain-causing neurotransmitters and eliminate inflammatory reactions of ganglia and sensory nerve fibers into the affected ganglia and sensory nerve fibers, so that such drugs act directly on the affected ganglia and sensory nerve fibers, resulting in high concentration of drugs at the affected area, fast and strong action, and also blocking nerve conduction pathways, thus producing an obvious pain-relieving effect. On the other hand, it promotes the regeneration of nerve cells and accelerates the repair of damaged ganglia and sensory nerve fibers, so the nerve block method is the main method of treating herpes zoster. There are two types of nerve blocks, one is called intercostal nerve block and the other is called nerve root block. The intercostal nerve block method is not as effective as the nerve root block method for pain relief because the area blocked by the nerve is not as large as the nerve root block method and the concentration of the drug in the affected area is not as high as the nerve root block method. While using anti-herpes virus drugs, intercostal nerve block combined with nerve root block can be used for those with severe disease and severe neuralgia. Based on the early use of antiviral drugs and other comprehensive treatment, nerve block therapy is an effective method to cure early herpes zoster and to prevent PHN.