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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Treatment For Shingles And Eye Pain

Dear Emergency Dr. Carol Rogala. My husband is diagnosed with shingles. It started on his face and forehead, but it moved to the eye. He has been given steroids eye droppes and valacyclovir hci gram tablet and he is taking his medication on schedule. But he has severe shooting pain in the eye and it feels like that his head is on fire. When he is getting these episodes he is screaming and it feels like torture. Rights now it is about 5 or 6 episodes a day. What can we do, this can not go on for months. We can not afford to take him to the hospital. For the pain he received Hydro-codon Acetaminophen 5-300. Please help us. Can you e-mail us your resolutions to fix this? I can not allow to have my husband going though torture. Thank you. Angie
Wed, 12 Nov 2014
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Dermatologist 's  Response
Hello. Thanks for writing to us at healthcaremagic.

The pain your husband is going through is a common complication of herpes zoster and is known as Post-Herpetc Neuralgia (PHN).
Individuals can continue to have pains, burning, stinging and stabbing sensations, long after the episode of shingles has healed.
The pain is due to inflammation and scarring of nerves affected by the episode of shingles.
Treatment is effective but sometimes may have to be continued for months or years, specially in old age group of patients.

Treatment options are:
-NSAIDS
-Tricyclic antidepressants(Amytriptyline, nortriptyline)
-Gapapentin/Pregabalin
-Carbamazepine
-Topical Capsaicin gel/cream
-Topical Lidocaine gel/cream

I usually treat my patients with a tricyclic antidepressant once or twice daily along with Gabapentin Or Pregabalin, twice or thrice daily.
The dose of tricyclic antidepressant can be increased to thrice daily depending on the response.
An oral Vit B12 Methylcobalamine in doses of 500 mcg to 750 mcg is also useful for neuralgic pains.
These are all prescription products

I would advice that you talk to your primary care physician for the needful. You can get back to us via this forum for any clarifications and future inquiries.

regards
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Suggest Treatment For Shingles And Eye Pain

Hello. Thanks for writing to us at healthcaremagic. The pain your husband is going through is a common complication of herpes zoster and is known as Post-Herpetc Neuralgia (PHN). Individuals can continue to have pains, burning, stinging and stabbing sensations, long after the episode of shingles has healed. The pain is due to inflammation and scarring of nerves affected by the episode of shingles. Treatment is effective but sometimes may have to be continued for months or years, specially in old age group of patients. Treatment options are: -NSAIDS -Tricyclic antidepressants(Amytriptyline, nortriptyline) -Gapapentin/Pregabalin -Carbamazepine -Topical Capsaicin gel/cream -Topical Lidocaine gel/cream I usually treat my patients with a tricyclic antidepressant once or twice daily along with Gabapentin Or Pregabalin, twice or thrice daily. The dose of tricyclic antidepressant can be increased to thrice daily depending on the response. An oral Vit B12 Methylcobalamine in doses of 500 mcg to 750 mcg is also useful for neuralgic pains. These are all prescription products I would advice that you talk to your primary care physician for the needful. You can get back to us via this forum for any clarifications and future inquiries. regards