Recent research is still relatively inconclusive about what medications really offer the best relief.  Some research into natural and organic medications are looking promising because of the lack of reactions to the medications.

One of the problems that is commonly found with some medications is the side effects that can occur with some shingles medications.  Sometimes the side effects can be worse than the pain of shingles.  Notice I said sometimes, as the different side effects can vary depending on each individual.

One of the natural medications that is being researched is an organic cream that is made of all natural materials, specifically herbs and other topical medicines.  This will offer a numbing affect to the affected area where your shingles outbreak is happening.  While there are several different creams on the market now, mostly in organic health stores, you can also find them online.

If you are looking for a good shingles medication, you should check with your doctor and see if they can offer any advice.  Sometimes other medications that you are taking can cause side effects with natural medications.  Finding the right shingles medication can be just a short phone call or online search away from shingles pain relief.

The pain that is caused after a shingles attack is hard to get rid of.  There is no easy answer to how you can get rid of shingles pain, however knowing what is causing the pain and how shingles works can afford you an opportunity to better prepare yourself for the aftermath of a shingles attack.

Shingles is a disease that is often times dormant in your system if you have had chicken pox.  It is caused by the herpes zoster virus and often times people can carry this virus for their entire life and not have any problems from it.  When the herpes zoster virus becomes active in the nerves, this is when it becomes shingles.

While there is no “cure” for shingles, you can often find yourself trying to find ways to deal with the shingles pain, both during a shingles outbreak and afterwards.   The pain from shingles can be excruciating and difficult to deal with.   When the pain begins, it is usually localized to a certain part of the body.  Sometimes the pain will begin before your shingles rash even appears.

Shingles pain can sometimes be helped by taking an anti-inflammatory medicine such as ibuprofen.  Sometimes dealing with shingles pain requires a heavier dose of medication such as a narcotic pain reliever in extreme circumstances.  Since shingles affects the nerves, certain anti-depressants or anti-seizure medications have shown some help with the shingles pain relief.

One of the best ways to deal with shingles pain is if you feel like you are beginning another outbreak of shingles, get to your doctor as soon as you can and they can often times prescribe certain medications that can help lessen the affects of the shingles outbreak.

So, what are shingles? Shingles are a painful skin disorder that can occur from a reactivation of the chicken pox virus. The chicken pox virus, also known as herpes zoster, lives in your body even if you have no symptoms of shingles.

The shingles vacine can reduce the chances of you getting shingles by more than half. The shingles vaccine was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2007.

There are more than a million new cases of shingles in the United States every year. There are two risk factors for shingles, which are increased age and lowered immunity. However, not everyone over 60 is automatically a candidate for the shingles vaccine.

The shingles vacine Zostavax is a stronger version of the chicken pox vaccine. It is usually given as a single injection under the skin, mostly in the arm.

The three-year clinical trial of Zostavax was performed with 38,000 people in the U.S. that were age 60 and older. This study showed that the shingles vaccine Zostavax prevented shingles in approximately half of those randomized to receive the vaccine. Especially good from the study was that in the group aged 60-69, it reduced shingles by 64 percent.

Another good piece of news from this study was among those who developed shingles despite being vaccinated, the duration of pain from the attack was slightly reduced. The most common side effects of the shingles vaccine Zostavax were redness, pain and tenderness, swelling at the site of injection, itching, and headache.

While the shingles vaccine is really good news, there’s no guarantee the vaccine will totally protect anyone from shingles. One doctor from the shingles vaccine study, Dr. Felderman said “I would not be inclined to give the vaccine to a patient who has already had shingles. It’s not that common to have a repeat attack, but when it occurs, it can always be treated with antiviral medication.”

So, is the shingles vaccine right for you? While the vaccine was found to be safe with minimal side effects in people over age 60 in the three-year clinical trial, there will be post-marketing studies to further monitor its safety.

“The vaccine is approved only for people aged 60 and above. It remains to be seen whether there will be general immunization recommendations for all people over age 60. Until there is, insurance carriers may not pay for the vaccine. So there is a cost consideration,” says Dr. Felderman. (The injection is projected to cost $145.) “People also need to understand the vaccine was not 100 percent effective; it will not absolutely guarantee that you won’t get shingles.”

Pain Before the Rashes

Contrary to popular belief, shingles is not signaled by just the outbreak of rashes. The first real sign of shingles is shingles pain. The reason why shingles pain occurs first before the rashes is that damage to the nerves happens first.

The virus which causes chicken pox usually gets stored in a nerve near the spinal cord once an individual recuperates from chicken pox. When the virus is reactivated, it can cause the nerve to become inflamed which is the initial cause of shingles pain. As the virus travels to the skin and becomes obvious as rashes, the pain may begin to worsen. The degree and constancy of the pain however varies from one individual to another.

Post Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN)

In a handful of people who have shingles, the shingles pain may persist even after the shingles rashes disappear. This is a condition known as post herpetic neuralgia. It is believed that the initial swelling of the nerve may result in the nerve defensively releasing substance P which is the known signal for pain. People with severe shingles may have severely damaged nerves, thus resulting in chronic shingles pain known as post herpetic neuralgia.

Age and PHN

It is an accepted fact that older people have higher chances of suffering from shingles than younger people. This is because older individuals have weaker immune systems due to the natural aging of their bodies’ systems. There is also a possibility that older people with shingles as well as those who have low stress tolerance have a greater chance of suffering from postherpetic neuralgia. The reasons for this are unclear but it is possible that PHN is also still linked with the body’s level of immunity and capacity for self healing.

Treatment of PHN

Just like shingles, there is no clear cure for shingles pain that has progressed to PHN. It is possible though to ease this chronic shingles pain and possibly even prevent it. Some suggest that early shingles treatment can reduce the possibility of developing PHN.

Shingles treatment may include anti viral medications and pain relievers. For those who already have PHN, doctors may prescribe a number of medications which include antidepressants, lidocaine patches, anticonvulsants and opioids. Further studies are needed to determine how exactly antidepressants work to prevent or ease shingles pain.

Radiation Therapy

There is a possibility that radiation may be able to relieve PHN. A study conducted for more than two decades showed that people who were given small doses of radiation on the affected nerves experienced relief from PHN. Some participants even experienced more relief from radiation doses than from the usual shingles medications. It is believed that radiation can prevent both inflammation and the increase of the virus. The use of radiation however almost always carries some risks.

The shingles virus is noted for the intense pain accompanying the shingles rash. Although most people suffer only one attack, repeated bouts of the rash can occur–usually located at the same place as the first rash. Even after the shingles rash disappears, some patients continue to have pain at the site of the rash. This pain is called postherpetic neuralgia. Some researchers believe shingles occur when the immune system is weakened, but there is no definitive answer. There is medication that will shorten the length of the outbreak. In order to be effective, you should be seen by a doctor within the first 72 hours the outbreak of the rash. The rash caused by shingles and the extreme pain are just a couple of symptoms, but there are more symptoms of shingles.

Shingles will do damage to your skin. Once you are over the outbreak, the skin at the site of the rash will be dry, flaky, and perhaps scarred. It will need a little extra care to get it supple again. Be sure to use a moisturizing soap and lotion until it’s back to normal.

But there can be exceptions to this. For example, what would happen if someone with shingles interacts with someone who hasn’t had chicken pox? In such a case, the virus can be transmitted, but then, the newly affected person will not get shingles – he will get chicken pox.

Consider another situation – someone has chicken pox, so can he spread the shingles disease? This issue is raised because it is the same virus that causes both these ailments. The answer to this is in the negative. This is because for the virus to become effective, it has to reside in the nervous system for a while. So if someone not having the virus comes in contact with someone with chicken pox, he cannot get shingles.

All this can become a bit confusing. So here is a list for easy understanding…

Has shingles – Meets someone who has not suffered from chicken pox before = Shingles is not contagious here.

Has shingles – Meets someone who has suffered from chicken pox before = Shingles is contagious here.

Has shingles — Meets someone who has not suffered from chicken pox before = Shingles is not contagious but the affected person can still get chicken pox.

Has chicken pox – Meets someone who does not have the virus within himself = Contagious but the person will get chicken pox and not shingles.

Has chicken pox – Meets someone who has chicken pox within himself = no one can get shingles in such a case.

So the shingles disease is not normally contagious through casual contacts, coughing, sneezing or waste materials like most other diseases are transmitted. However it is still advisable to avoid coming into contact with someone who has been affected with the shingles virus. Blame this on the rashes, particularly when the blisters are still there. However once the rashes have dried up, the risk goes down considerably. The chances of a shingles contamination are very less then. There is no reason to worry at a stage when there is just the pain and very few rashes. Shingles is not contagious at such a stage.

Medications are available to strengthen the immune system to lower the risk of a contamination from shingles.

Severe pain on the areas of the blisters is one symptom experienced by most of the people who are affected by shingles. This severe pain can be triggered by a gentle touch or air movement over the affected area. Medications used in curing shingles during the initial stages of the outbreak is to reduce the pain and the impact of shingles after the rashes have gone. Medicines used for cure includes acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir), or valacyclovir (Valtrex). These medicines are used to reduce the pain and discomfort that is caused by shingles.

The homepathic medicines that are used in shingles cure are Causticum, Hypericum, Phytolaca, Rhus Tox, Ran Bub, Variolinum, Anthracinum, Carbo Animalis, Arnica, and Agaricum. Herbs like Hypericum perforatum are used in preparing herbal medicines for shingles cure. The other herbs that are used in preparing medicines for shingles cure are Avena sativa, Scutellaria laterifolia, Artemisia vulgaris, and Echinacea.

Shingles is the formation of a patch of blisters along the sides of the body. This patch may be in the form of a belt of blisters in the body, which are filled with fluids. This is caused by the varicella zoster virus. Hence shingles treatment means treating this virus. Actually there is no defined shingles treatment available for the complete cure of shingles. Shingles treatment available now-a-days are to reduce the impact of shingles on our body.

There are lots of anti-viral medications available to treat this virus as a part of shingles treatment. This shingles treatment help in reducing the complications after the impact of shingles on our body. During the shingles treatment using the above medicines, these medications are taken three to five times a day for seven to ten days at a stretch. In any case treatment for shingles must be done with the help of a medical practitioner, such as your doctor.

Shingles will occur when the body cannot keep the chickenpox virus (herpes zoster) under control. Most people who have shingles may notice the symptoms also include tingling on one side of the body and a burning sensation. The shingles virus tends to cause a localized pain in a specific area of the body. This pain can make it very hard to move.

Generally the most painful shingles symptom will be the constant body aches and pain going through the body just days before the outbreak of shingles emerges. Shingles symptoms eventually lead to an outbreak of blisters on the skin which is the most apparent sign a person has a shingles infection.

Shingles is a lot like the chickenpox only it occurs in people who are much older. The blisters which are caused by shingles and are the defining symptom of shingles are very painful and occur in groups. With the shingles virus there will be a large area of red inflamed skin and blisters will cover that area. The blisters of shingles tend to be filled with liquid, which is another symptom or sign which is readily obvious it is more serious than having a rash or something like eczema. The one symptom which may help determine that a person has shingles is the fact where the body hurts is always where the shingles outbreak will occur.

Merely being in the same room with a shingles patient will not cause the child to catch chickenpox. During a shingles infection the virus is not normally in the lungs and therefore can’t be spread through the air. With some shingles medications you can treat shingles to help get rid of the shingles outbreak.

Many people have recieved the shingles vaccine to help prevent future outbreaks.  Also, there are some treatments that you can use to help prevent shingles from being contagious, which will help prevent you spreading shingles to another person, at times.  Remember, you might not think you are contagious to other people, but would you want to really give someone else shingles?

People with chickenpox cannot communicate shingles to someone else although they can of course pass the chickenpox on to someone who has never had chickenpox. In cases of chickenpox, the virus can become airborne because it is found in the upper respiratory tract.

Shingles occurs when an unknown trigger causes the virus hiding inside the person’s body to become activated. Unlike chickenpox, shingles can’t be “caught” from someone else.  Shingles treatments can offer some relief from the pain associated with shingles and can help you get over the shingles outbreak faster.

As early as 1909, a German scientist suspected that the viruses causing chickenpox and shingles were one and the same. In the 1920s and 1930s, the case was strengthened. As part of an experiment, children were inoculated with fluid from the lesions of patients with shingles. Within two weeks, about half the children came down with chickenpox.

Finally, in 1958, detailed analyses of the viruses taken from patients with either chickenpox or shingles confirmed that the viruses were identical. The virus that causes shingles and chickenpox is known as the varicella-zoster virus.

Based on these studies, it was shown that a person with shingles (also known as herpes zoster) can pass the varicella-zoster virus to others, but these individuals would develop chickenpox instead of shingles. Therefore, a person with shingles cannot transmit shingles to another person. In other words, in order for a person to develop shingles, he or she must already harbor the chickenpox virus in the nervous system. When this virus becomes active again, the individual will develop shingles.

So, to sum it up, shingles are contagious to people that have not had chickenpox. They are not contagious without contact to the individual. The most at risk are children. Shingles are contagious under certain circumstances.  Shingles vaccine can help you prevent future outbreaks of the shingles and shingles treatments can help relieve the shingles pain.

There are many shingles treatments if you do get shingles, however if you aren’t sure if you have shingles, the best method is to stay away from other people during a shingles outbreak.