Health Topics A-Z

What Are the Treatments?

Physicians often prescribe analgesics for mild cases of neuralgia and opioid analgesics for severe cases. Capsaicin (the active ingredient in cayenne pepper) in ointment form can be an effective over-the-counter remedy for postherpetic neuralgia, but wait until all the skin lesions are healed before using. Corticosteroids reduce nerve inflammation, and sedatives indirectly help ease pain.

Many nerve-related pains respond to the anticonvulsant medications. Neurontin (gabapentin) is one that shows some benefit, but others may help as well. Tricyclic antidepressants may also be useful. A new form of treatment with a topical anestheic (lidocaine) patch on the skin is also effective for some people. Another form of treatment involves a TENS unit which stimulates the skin around the affected area with tiny electrical currents to interrupt the pain sensations.

How Can I Prevent It?

Not everyone who has shingles is stricken with the pain afterward. The older you are, the more likely you are to have this pain.

The best prevention is to treat the shingles aggressively with antiviral medications during the initial outbreak of rash, and some doctors think that using anti-inflammatory steroids by mouth during the actual treatment will help prevent or reduce the pain of postherpetic neuralgia.

Most recently, scientists and researchers have been developing a vaccine against shingles, although none is commercially available yet. However, the vaccine used to prevent chicken pox in children has been shown to reduce the incidence and duration of a shingles outbreak and the occurrence of postherpetic neuralgia pain in some people.