Treatment for Postherpetic Neuralgia
Not everyone responds the same to these medications, so it is possible that your doctor may try more than one medicine or different strengths of the medication before the postherpetic neuralgia pain is reduced.
Another method used to treat postherpetic neuralgia may include transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS. As a last resort, invasive procedures called nerve blocks may be used to provide temporary relief for postherpetic neuralgia pain.
Preventing Postherpetic Neuralgia
Once a person develops symptoms, there is no cure for postherpetic neuralgia. However, there are a couple of ways to prevent postherpetic neuralgia, or at least reduce its severity or duration. These two options include antiviral medicines and the
shingles vaccine.
Antiviral Medicines
Examples of antiviral medicines used for
shingles treatment include:
Besides being effective in reducing the severity and duration of a shingles attack, these shingles medicines may perhaps affect the chances of developing postherpetic neuralgia. They may also help with the severity and duration of postherpetic neuralgia. For example, compared to people who did not take any medicine, famciclovir decreased the average time for postherpetic neuralgia symptoms from 119 days to 63 days.
These antiviral medicines must be given within 72 hours of the beginning of the shingles attack. They are not effective for treating postherpetic neuralgia if they are given after shingles has improved.
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