Treating Nerve Pain From Shingles

Use a lidocaine patch.

Treating nerve pain from shingles.

Anti inflammatory medicine can be injected into the space around the spinal cord to decrease nerve root inflammation and reduce pain. They are all effective at helping shingles rashes crust over and heal and they help reduce pain as you are healing. The antiviral medications used to treat shingles are valacyclovir famciclovir and acyclovir. Shingles a viral infection of the nerve roots affects 1 million people in the u s each year.

The condition affects nerve fibers and skin causing burning pain that lasts long after the rash and blisters of shingles disappear. In head to head studies a 7 day course of valacyclovir worked faster than a 7 day course of acyclovir at reducing pain. Take non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs to ease your pain. Taking medications after the blisters are gone 1.

The main treatment is with antiviral drugs during the early stages of shingles within 2 to 3 days of symptoms coming on. After the blisters have healed you can apply a 5 lidocaine patch to your skin to reduce. If you have shingles symptoms get treatment now and you may avoid permanent nerve pain. Codeine ibuprofen advil motrin lorazepam ativan triptans migraine drugs zovirax topical.

The risk of postherpetic neuralgia increases with age primarily affecting people older than 60. Acyclovir zovirax. Non steroidal anti inflammatory medications nsaids. There s no cure for shingles but prompt treatment with prescription antiviral drugs can speed healing and reduce your risk of complications.

A group of drugs called nmda receptor antagonists. These include oral memantine namenda oral dextromethorphan and. Treating nerve pain alternative treatments you can t make an outbreak of shingles go away any faster but you can do a lot of things on your own to make yourself more comfortable. The chickenpox herpes zoster virus causes shingles.