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What Is The Best Treatment For Shingles . It Has
Posted on
Mon, 19 Nov 2018
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Mon, 19 Nov 2018
Answered on
Last reviewed on
Question : What is the best treatment for shingles. It has broken out on my scalp and is very painful.
Brief Answer:
Detailed answer and explanations given below
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Shingles is a viral infection that is well treated with Valacyclovir (which is the medical name for Valtrex). The dose is 1 g (1000 mg) 3 times a day for 7 days and needs to be started within 72 hours of symptoms for better effect. It seems you are already taking the right medication to fight the virus and in the right dose.
Meanwhile to help with pain, tylenol can be used for mild pain, it is not sufficient for moderate to severe pain. In these cases combination of tylenol with ibuprofen or codeine might help even more. If not enough release the doctor may prescribe stronger drugs like tramadol or hydrocodone which can be used only for a few days till the infection starts to be improving (it is not recommended to use them for longer than a week as you might develop dependence to them).
The doctor might decide to add steroids to the oral treatment with Valtrex. Steroids reduce inflammation and may help relieve the symptoms like redness, swelling and pain. But the doctor has to weigh well the benefits and possible complications from using steroids.
Normally the pain should start to be better within the first week with the improvement of the infection but in rare cases it may last longer due to the nerve damage that might have happened. In these cases, if the pain lasts longer than 2 weeks the doctor might prescribe some gabapentine to help with the nerve pain.
An important issue with shingles in the head is the location. If you have lesions on the forehead and the tip of the nose then you risk to have shingles infection in the eye of that side so it is important to have a fluoresceine examination of the eye to rule out corneal ulceration (these would cause pain in the eye and sensitivity to the light). If you develop these symptoms please let your doctor know as soon as possible.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
General & Family Physician
Detailed answer and explanations given below
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Shingles is a viral infection that is well treated with Valacyclovir (which is the medical name for Valtrex). The dose is 1 g (1000 mg) 3 times a day for 7 days and needs to be started within 72 hours of symptoms for better effect. It seems you are already taking the right medication to fight the virus and in the right dose.
Meanwhile to help with pain, tylenol can be used for mild pain, it is not sufficient for moderate to severe pain. In these cases combination of tylenol with ibuprofen or codeine might help even more. If not enough release the doctor may prescribe stronger drugs like tramadol or hydrocodone which can be used only for a few days till the infection starts to be improving (it is not recommended to use them for longer than a week as you might develop dependence to them).
The doctor might decide to add steroids to the oral treatment with Valtrex. Steroids reduce inflammation and may help relieve the symptoms like redness, swelling and pain. But the doctor has to weigh well the benefits and possible complications from using steroids.
Normally the pain should start to be better within the first week with the improvement of the infection but in rare cases it may last longer due to the nerve damage that might have happened. In these cases, if the pain lasts longer than 2 weeks the doctor might prescribe some gabapentine to help with the nerve pain.
An important issue with shingles in the head is the location. If you have lesions on the forehead and the tip of the nose then you risk to have shingles infection in the eye of that side so it is important to have a fluoresceine examination of the eye to rule out corneal ulceration (these would cause pain in the eye and sensitivity to the light). If you develop these symptoms please let your doctor know as soon as possible.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
General & Family Physician
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Answered by
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