herpes zoster ophthalmicus (redirected from ophthalmic zoster)

herpes /her·pes/ (her´pēz) any inflammatory skin disease marked by the formation of small vesicles in clusters; the term is usually restricted to such diseases caused by herpesviruses and is used alone to refer to h. simplex or to h. zoster.

---

herpes febri´lis  see h. simplex.

genital herpes , herpes genita´lis herpes simplex due to type 2 virus, primarily transmitted sexually via genital secretions and involving the genital region; in women, the vesicular stage may give rise to confluent, painful ulcerations and may be accompanied by neurologic symptoms.

herpes gestatio´nis  a variant of dermatitis herpetiformis peculiar to pregnant women, and clearing upon termination of pregnancy.

herpes labia´lis  h. febrilis affecting the vermilion border of the lips.

herpes progenita´lis  genital h.

herpes sim´plex  an acute viral disease, caused by human herpesviruses 1 and 2, marked by groups of vesicles on the skin, often on the borders of the lips or nares (cold sores), or on the genitals (genital h.); it often accompanies fever (fever blisters, h. febrilis) .

herpes zos´ter  shingles; an acute, unilateral, self-limited inflammatory disease of cerebral ganglia and the ganglia of posterior nerve roots and peripheral nerves in a segmented distribution, believed to represent activation of latent human herpesvirus 3 in those who have been rendered partially immune after a previous attack of chickenpox, and characterized by groups of small vesicles in the cutaneous areas along the course of affected nerves, and associated with neuralgic pain.

herpes zos´ter ophthal´micus  herpes zoster involving the ophthalmic nerve, with a vesicular erythematous rash along the nerve path (forehead, eyelid, and cornea) preceded by lancinating pain; there is iridocyclitis, and corneal involvement may lead to keratitis and corneal anesthesia.

herpes zos´ter o´ticus  Ramsay Hunt syndrome (1).

---

herpes zoster ophthalmicus,

a form of herpes zoster in which the virus invades the gasserian ganglion, causing pain and skin eruptions along the ophthalmic branch of the fifth cranial nerve. There also may be involvement of the third cranial nerve. The infection frequently leads to corneal ulceration or other ocular complications. Also called ophthalmic herpes zoster.

---

herpes zoster ophthalmicus

An inflammation of that portion of the gasserian ganglion receiving fibres from the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve, due to an infection by a latent varicella-zoster virus identical to that causing chickenpox. The disease that occurs most commonly in people over 50 years of age begins with a severe, unilateral, disabling neuralgia in the region of distribution of the nerve. It is followed by a vesicular eruption of the epithelium of the forehead, the nose, eyelids and sometimes the cornea. The vesicles rupture leaving haemorrhagic areas that heal in several weeks. Pain usually disappears in about two weeks but in a few cases neuralgia persists for a long time. Ocular complications occur in approximately 50% of all cases of herpes zoster ophthalmicus. Corneal involvement appears as acute epithelial keratitis, which is characterized by small fine dendritic or stellate lesions in the peripheral cornea in association with a conjunctivitis. This keratitis usually resolves within a week. As the disease progresses it may give rise to mucous plaque keratitis, which occurs usually between the third and the sixth month after the onset of the rash. It is characterized by the plaque lines on the surface of the cornea, which can be easily lifted, and stromal haze. Iridocyclitis also accompanies this keratitis in approximately 50% of cases.