Treatment For Shingles Pain Management

Most people with postherpetic neuralgia use medication to control their symptoms.

Treatment for shingles pain management.

Dip into a cool tub of water. Your top priority is to find relief for the pain and itching that the rash causes. Roughly 30 to 60 of people over age 60 who get shingles go on to develop a chronic pain syndrome called post herpetic neuralgia. There s no cure for shingles but prompt treatment with prescription antiviral drugs can speed healing and reduce your risk of complications.

But there are other ways to control the pain too. Antiviral medications such as acyclovir zovirax famciclovir famvir and valacyclovir valtrex may ease the discomfort and may reduce the duration of the symptoms particularly if started within 72 hours of the first sign of shingles. For instance 17 of women with shingles and 26 of those who had severe pain went on to get phn. There is no cure for shingles but there are treatments for managing the symptoms.

But 50 of women who were over age 60 and had symptoms before the rash severe rash and acute. A capsaicin skin patch derived from chili peppers. Be careful not to get it in your eyes. Tens transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.

The chili peppers essentially burn out the nerve that s causing pain explains dr. If you have severe pain after the rash clears or an infection during your shingles outbreak your doctor might prescribe. July 25 2005 a new study offers insights into what helps and what does not help relieve long lasting shingles pain. There are a variety of treatments for the pain caused by shingles as well as for post herpatic neuralgia.

Doctors call it postherpetic neuralgia or phn. It s caused by nerve.