Mary Jo, a 60 year old woman, developed a burning, tingling feeling on the right side of her body.....

After a few days she developed a red rash at the point of the burning.  Blisters began to form along with headaches and a fever.  Perplexed, Mary Jo visited her family doctor.

After a thorough physical exam, a scraping of the blisters, and conversation with Mary Jo, her doctor told her she had Herpes Zoster, better known as Shingles. Herpes Zoster is a nerve infection caused by the chicken pox.

Mary Jo couldn't understand where she picked this up.  Her doctor explained that anyone who has had chicken pox is at risk for developing Shingles. Although children can get this, it is much more common in people over the age of 50.  Trauma, stress and/or a weakened immune system can bring on the Shingles. The virus lays dormant in nerve cells.  About 20 percent of people who have had chicken pox will develop herpes zoster.

Mary Jo wanted to know how long the pain and discomfort would last.  What was the treatment?  Zoster usually clears on it's own according to her doctor.  Pain relievers and cool compresses are helpful in drying the blisters.  Sometimes if the Zoster is severe ant-viral drugs, in capsule form, may be prescribed.

LidoDerm patch

A new medication just passed by the FDA, Federation Drug Administration, called the LidoDerm patch works to relieve the pain of severe cases of Herpes Zoster.  In studies 60-70 percent of patients got relief from LidoDerm.  one patch can last a few days or a week.  The patch contains 5 % lidocaine solution which works to quell the pain.

Luckily Mary Jo had a moderate case  of Shingles which responded well to pain medication and cool compresses.

Comments

Using Capacian pepper cream
From: Marianne Lewis (nurse practitioner)
Excellent, all too ofter the diagnosis is missed before the blisters come to surface but the patient may recognize this distinct pain on the next outbreak and start anti-viral therapy to supress the outbreak. Capacian pepper cream works great to ease the preherpetic pain and you can get it over the counter. The Phillipino folks use Allum crystals with which they make a paste after the outbreak to ease the burning and pain. My sister just had her pain diagnosed so I've been reviewing my books. I'm really excited to tell her about the new patch. Thanks!

Using SuperL Lysine ointment
From: Val Taylor
Another note for those looking for remedies for the pain of shingles. I and several others have had great relief using SuperL Lysine ointment and/orcapsules to take orally. It removes about 80% of the electric current typepain. You may need to apply it several times a day, but it does wonders! You can find it in both forms at health food stores.

I recommended it to a senior saint in our church who was suffering terribly with shingles. Overnight, the pain was reduced to a manageable level. She was truly amazed by how well it worked. I can't recommend it highly enough. It was a God-send to me during my outbreak. Val Taylor

Health Byte
Pink Eye Mysteries
by Sue Spataro, RN, BSN
There are different types of pink eye
Which one do you or your child have?
Pink eye or conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the lining of the eyelids and the protective conjunctive or white of the eye. There can be many different cause of pink eye with different treaments and possible damage to the eye, if you get the wrong one. Find out more.