Postherpetic neuralgia: a workable treatment plan.

Management of established postherpetic neuralgia should proceed on several fronts simultaneously and may include pain-oriented treatments that are pharmacologic, neuroaugmentative, anesthetic, physiatric, psychological, and surgical. Many patients develop a pattern of abnormal illness behavior, manifesting loss of interest in work or avocations, social withdrawal, and disturbance of family roles. Improvement in these impairments must be a goal that is as important as amelioration of the pain itself.