How Long Does Pain Last After Shingles

The Best Pain Doctor For Shingles Pain Treatment Is Roziermd

If you have shingles pain, you should immediately seek the care and treatment of a reputable pain doctor.

Dr. Antonio Rozier is a highly experienced and reputable pain management doctor. He is the best pain doctor for shingles pain treatment in Dallas, Mansfield & TX. He is equipped with different interventional techniques and treatments for various types of pain including shingles pain.

If you have shingles pain or you are searching for a doctor that is very experienced in the treatment of shingles pain, Dr. Rozier is highly recommended.

How Is It Treated

It is best to start treatment as soon as possible after you notice the rash. See your healthcare provider to discuss treatment with antiviral medicine, such as acyclovir. This medicine is most effective if you start taking it within the first 3 days of the rash. Antiviral medicine may speed your recovery and lessen the chance that the pain will last for a long time.

Your provider may also recommend or prescribe:

• medicine for pain
• antibacterial salves or lotions to help prevent bacterial infection of the blisters
• corticosteroids

Have Shingles Get Treatment Take Action

If you have shingles, it’s important to talk to your doctor about your risk for developing PHN. Ask whether preventative treatment with antiviral drugs makes sense. If your doctor says it’s not necessary, ask why.

The full implications of the psychological risk factors for PHN aren’t clear yet, says Dworkin. But he suggests that people with shingles should try to stay active and connected.

“If psychological distress is a risk factor for PHN,” he says, “then we think that people who have shingles might benefit from getting out and not being isolated and homebound.”

You might make an effort to stay connected to family and friends and not to dwell on your symptoms. Also, keep in mind that even if you do develop PHN, there are treatments that can help.

“We have about a half dozen types of drugs that are used as first-line treatments for PHN,” says Dworkin. They include lidocaine patch , pregabalin , gabapentin , capsaicin , carbamazepine , tricyclic antidepressants, and painkillers.

The most important thing is to get prompt medical attention if you think you might have shingles.

“If you have a one-sided rash — especially if you’re over 50 — see your doctor right away,” says Dworkin. “It could be shingles. And we know that prompt treatment can dramatically reduce the likelihood of developing long-term pain.”

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How Is Postherpetic Neuralgia Treated

If shingles is caught within the first three days of its outbreak, your healthcare provider may prescribe the antiviral medication acyclovir , valacyclovir or famciclovir . These medications help the rash/blisters heal faster, keep new sores from forming, decrease pain and itching and reduce length of pain after sores have healed.

If your shingles outbreak is not caught early, your healthcare providers has many options to manage your postherpetic neuralgia symptoms.

If your pain is mild, your healthcare provider may recommend:

• Acetaminophen or NSAIDs such as ibuprofen .
• Creams and patches include lidocaine and capsaicin .

If your pain is more severe, your healthcare may prescribe:

• Antiseizure drugs gabapentin and pregabalin .
• Antidepressants, such as escitalopram , quetiapine or amitriptyline.
• Botulinum toxin injections in the area where you are having pain.

Theres no clear-cut superior treatment for PHN. Your provider may need to try more than one medication or prescribe the use of several medications at the same time. You and your provider will discuss options and what makes sense to try for you. Contact your provider if your pain is not lessening after taking your medicine. Take all your medications exactly as prescribed.

Preventing The Virus Spreading

If you have the shingles rash, do not share towels or flannels, go swimming, or play contact sports. This will help prevent the virus being passed on to someone who has not had chickenpox.

You should also avoid work or school if your rash is weeping and cannot be covered.

Chickenpox can be particularly dangerous for certain groups of people. If you have shingles, avoid:

• women who are pregnant and have not had chickenpox before as they could catch it from you, which may harm their unborn baby
• people who have a weak immune system, such as someone with HIV or AIDS
• babies less than one month old, unless it is your own baby, in which case your baby should have antibodies to protect them from the virus

Once your blisters have dried and scabbed over, you are no longer contagious and will not need to avoid anyone.

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What Can I Do For The Pain

To help with the pain of shingles, your doctor might have you take an over-the-counter pain medicine. This could include acetaminophen or ibuprofen .

Applying a medicated anti-itch lotion to the blisters might reduce the pain and itching. Placing cool compresses soaked in water mixed with white vinegar on the blisters and sores might also help.

If shingles causes severe pain, your doctor might prescribe a stronger pain medicine.

How Is Shingles Prevented

The best protection against shingles is vaccination. Chickenpox vaccine should prevent you from getting the virus, and so decrease the risk of both chickenpox and shingles. Shingles vaccine reduces the risk of getting shingles and its complications you may still get shingles, but the symptoms are usually less severe and post-herpetic neuralgia is less likely. In New Zealand there are 2 brands of vaccines that protect against shingles Shingrix and Zostavax. These vaccines differ in the way they work, their cost and how they are given. Read more about the differences between Shingrix and Zostavax.

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What Is Postherpetic Neuralgia

Postherpetic neuralgia is a complication of shingles infection . Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox.

Shingles causes a painful, blistering rash and other symptoms. The rash most commonly occurs in a band pattern on one side of your body, usually on your trunk . The rash turns into blisters. As the rash/blisters go away, pain may remain. When pain remains, the condition is called postherpetic neuralgia.

Is It Possible To Prevent Postherpetic Neuralgia

If shingles can be prevented, then PHN can be prevented. Fortunately, the vaccine Zostavax is about 70% effective in preventing shingles. The CDC recommends that everyone older than 60 years of age get the vaccine in 2011, the FDA approved the vaccine for people aged 50 and above. The CDC states, “Zostavax should not be given to pregnant women, persons with a primary or acquired immunodeficiency, or to persons with a history of anaphylactic reaction to gelatin, neomycin, or any other component of the vaccine. Herpes zoster vaccine can be administered simultaneously with other indicated vaccines.”

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Who Gets Postherpetic Neuralgia

About 1 out of 5 people who have shingles will have these sharp, ongoing pains afterward. Certain things can increase your chances of getting it:

• Age: Most people who get postherpetic neuralgia are older than 60.
• Gender: Women seem to get it more than men.
• Early symptoms: People who have numbness, tingling, or itching before a shingles rash even appears tend to get the lingering pain later.
• Pain at the start: If you had severe pain or a rash during the beginning of your outbreak, you have a greater chance of the neuralgia later.
• Other health problems: People with ongoing conditions that can weaken the immune system, like HIV and cancer, seem more likely to get it.

A Word About The Shingles Vaccine

If you are age 60 or over and have not had shingles, talk to your doctor about getting the shingles vaccine. Not only will it reduce your risk of developing shingles, but if you do develop shingles, youll be more likely to have a mild case. And, just as important, youll be much less likely to develop PHN if youve had the vaccine.

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Causes Of Shingles Pain

Causes of Shingles Pain

The main cause of shingles pain is a viral infection of the nerve root. If you ever had chickenpox, the virus will remain dormant in your body for the rest of your life. As you grow older, your immune system becomes weaker and suppressed from medications or other procedures such as chemotherapy. When your immune system gets weak, the virus can reactivate, causing shingles pain.

Help Is Available For Phn

Fortunately,early treatment for shingles can lower your chances of getting PHN.

For some people, the pain becomes refractory, or resistant to treatment, explains Dr. Rosenquist. So we want to treat shingles as fast as we can ideally as soon as somebody feels a tingling or burning sensation, even before a rash develops.

Sheadds that whenever nerve pain is involved, some people respond to treatment andsome dont.

However,medications taken orally or injected that can target the affected nerves may beable to stun the nervous system into behaving properly. That meanstransmitting the appropriate signal to the brain.

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Lasting Pain After Shingles

Pain that continues for a long time after a shingles rash has disappeared is called post-herpetic neuralgia. This is the most common complication of shingles. Its still not clear how it can be prevented or what the best treatment is.

Shingles typically causes a rash accompanied by pain in the affected area. The pain normally goes away when the rash goes away. This usually happens after two to four weeks. Pain that continues for longer is referred to as post-herpetic neuralgia. The word “post-herpetic” means “post-herpes” because the pain arises after infection by the herpes zoster virus. In very rare cases pain can come back after a shingles infection, even if it had already gone away and the rash has disappeared.

The main symptom of post-herpetic neuralgia is pain in the nerves . The skin is often overly sensitive and itchy as well. This can make it difficult or painful to wash yourself, turn over in bed, or hug someone. The pain and itching can be very severe and might keep you from sleeping.

Can Shingles And Postherpetic Neuralgia Be Prevented

Shingles can only be prevented if you never have chickenpox, or if you have very good immunity against the chickenpox virus . Most people in the UK have chickenpox as a child. However, immunity to the chickenpox virus reduces as you become older.

There is a vaccine against the varicella-zoster virus which is now offered routinely to people in the UK aged 70-79 years. The efficacy of the vaccine declines with age and so it is not recommended for people aged 80 years or older. This vaccine is the most effective way of preventing the development of PHN. It is a very effective and safe vaccine.

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How Long Does Shingles Last

Most cases of shingles last three to five weeks.

• The first sign is often burning or tingling pain sometimes it includes numbness or itching on one side of the body.
• Somewhere between one and five days after the tingling or burning feeling on the skin, a red rash will appear.
• A few days later, the rash will turn into fluid-filled blisters.
• About one week to 10 days after that, the blisters dry up and crust over.
• A couple of weeks later, the scabs clear up.

What Outcome Can I Expect If I Have Postherpetic Pain

Theres no standard treatment for the symptoms of postherpetic pain . Depending on the severity of your pain, you may start with over-the-counter products. If your pain is more severe, one or more prescription medications may be tried. PHN is difficult to treat. Achieving a complete symptom-free state was achieved in less than half the patients with PHN, according to one study.

PHN tends to happen in older individuals who may have other health conditions, which can complicate treatment and results. Pain can last weeks, months and even longer than a year. In some people, the pain can be debilitating. In most people, PHN lessens with time.

A note from Cleveland ClinicThe best way to not get postherpetic neuralgia is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Varicella-zoster virus causes both chickenpox and shingles. Vaccines are available to protect against developing both of these viral infections.

Once you develop chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus remains in your body for life. If the virus reactivates and causes shingles, you have a few days around the rash outbreak to see your provider and get an antiviral medication, which can significantly lessen your symptoms. Still, if you develop PHN, your provider has many medications available to manage your symptoms.

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Are There Treatments I Can Put On My Skin

You might find relief with topical treatments. You can talk to your doctor about:

Creams: Some of these contain capsaicin, the ingredient in cayenne pepper that gives it a kick. Examples are Capsin and Zostrix. You can buy this over the counter but make sure your doctor knows if you plan on using these.

Patches: Capsaicin is also in Qutenza, which is applied via a patch for one hour every 3 months. You need to visit the doctorâs office for this.

Lidoderm is a patch that has a numbing agent called lidocaine. Itâs applied directly to the painful area of skin. You need a prescription.

Is It Possible To Avoid Shingles

Most people get shingles only once, but it is possible to get it two or more times.

Anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles later in life. There is a shingles vaccine that may help prevent shingles, or make it less painful. The vaccine is recommended for adults ages 60 and older, even if theyve previous had shingles.

For children and adults who never had chickenpox, there is a vaccine that can help avoid getting the virus that causes both chickenpox and shingles.

For anyone who has never had chickenpox and has not received the chickenpox vaccine, it is best to avoid contact with people who have shingles or chickenpox. Fluid from shingles blisters is contagious and can cause chickenpox, but not shingles.

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What You Can Do About Nerve Pain That Lingers After Shingles

Chronic pain that continues after a case of shingles is called postherpetic neuralgia . It is estimated that about 20% of patients will experience this type of nerve pain as a complication of shingles.

Those who have had chickenpox are at risk of developing shingles later in life. People who develop PHN are generally age 60 and older. Although there is no cure for PHN, there are several methods of pain management that can ease symptoms. Fortunately, the type of pain that arises from postherpetic neuralgia improves over time.

Neuralgia affects the nerves, causing structural and functional damage. It can feel like a stabbing or burning pain that radiates along the affected nerve.

Neuropathic pain is not caused by an external injury or stimuli but originates from inside the nervous system. When the herpes-varicella zoster virus is reactivated in the form of shingles, scar tissue forms alongside nerves, creating pressure, and sending pain signals to the brain.

What Causes Shingles

If you have had chickenpox, you were infected with the varicella zoster virus. In the past, nearly every child would become infected by the time they were an adult, but now we have a vaccine that protects against chickenpox. When you recover from chickenpox, the virus hides out in nerve cells and stays dormant . You develop shingles when this dormant virus reactivates. This can happen if your immunity is lowered by getting older, during times of stress or by having cancer treatment or other conditions, eg, HIV, rheumatoid arthritis or type 2 diabetes.

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What Is Shingles

Shingles, also called herpes zoster, is a disease that triggers a painful skin rash. It is caused by the same virus as chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus. After you recover from chickenpox , the virus continues to live in some of your nerve cells.

For most adults, the virus is inactive and it never leads to shingles. But, for about one in three adults, the virus will become active again and cause shingles.

Can I Prevent It

The FDA has approved two shingles vaccines, Zostavax and Shingrix. A vaccine is now recommended for everyone 60 and older. People from 50 to 59 may want to talk to their doctor about it if they have ongoing pain or skin issues or have a weakened immune system.

The vaccines cut the chance of shingles by at least 50%. Even if you still get shingles, the painful period is shortened and you reduce your risk of postherpetic neuralgia.

Early treatment for shingles can also lower your chances of getting this complication. So if you think you have it, call your doctor right away. The main treatment is with antiviral drugs during the early stages of shingles, within 2 to 3 days of symptoms coming on. Medications used include:

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Am I At Risk For Shingles

Everyone who has had chickenpox is at risk for developing shingles. Researchers do not fully understand what makes the virus become active and cause shingles. But some things make it more likely:

• Older age. The risk of developing shingles increases as you age. About half of all shingles cases are in adults age 60 or older. The chance of getting shingles becomes much greater by age 70.
• Trouble fighting infections. Your immune system is the part of your body that responds to infections. Age can affect your immune system. So can HIV, cancer, cancer treatments, too much sun, and organ transplant drugs. Even stress or a cold can weaken your immune system for a short time. These all can put you at risk for shingles.

Most people only have shingles one time. However, it is possible to have it more than once.