Treatment For Shingles Pain Mayo Clinic

Mayo clinic news network read the script.

Treatment for shingles pain mayo clinic.

The signs and symptoms of shingles usually affect only a small section of one side of your body. However immediate shingles treatment often including an antiviral drug such as acyclovir zovirax famciclovir famvir or valacyclovir valtrex can reduce pain speed healing and reduce the risk of complications. The risk of postherpetic neuralgia increases with age primarily affecting people older than 60. Mayo clinic health letter is an eight page monthly newsletter of reliable accurate and practical information on today s health and medical news.

Shingles typically starts with pain itching and tingling in an area where the rash will develop in a matter of days. Shingles around the eye typically involves the skin of the forehead and the skin of the upper lid. The condition affects nerve fibers and skin causing burning pain that lasts long after the rash and blisters of shingles disappear. The chickenpox herpes zoster virus causes shingles.

Shingles is usually diagnosed based on the history of pain on one side of your body along with the telltale rash and blisters. Your doctor may also take a tissue scraping or culture of the blisters for examination in the laboratory.