How can you treat the shingles virus?!


Question: How can you treat the shingles virus.?
My friend has shingles. He went to the Doctor but they gave him only pills. Is there a lotion over the counter you can use for the itching and or pain. I know it is from chickenpox so can you give it to someone else like chicken-pox.?Health Question & Answer


Answers:
<<.. Doctor but they gave him only pills..>
yes, acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famciclovir are all appropriate and effective treatments.

<< Is there a lotion over the counter you can use for the itching>>
yes - topical benedryl will offer MINIMAL symptomatic improvement
oral benadryl may also help a bit.
your doctor can certainly prescribe pain medication - but avoid getting hooked on prescription pain remedies. I have had shingles myself, and I know how bothersome the pain is, but I took nothing for it - - it is certainly not something that warrants getting hooked on narcotics.

Note that topical lidocaine patches are NOT approved to be used on broken skin -- but they are very good AFTER the skin has healed, when the pain persists.


<< I know it is from chickenpox so can you give it to someone else like chicken-pox.?>>>

yes you can.
it is transmitted by touching the involved skin - so don't touch it!!!
it is not transmitted by the respiratory route - you can't breathe it in.Health Question & Answer

Good question. Shingles is not a virus it is caused by antibodies to the ckicken pox virus I think. Don't quote me. I don't believe that it is contagious.Health Question & Answer

It's not contagious to anyone who has had chickenpox.

His doctor can also prescribe topical pain medication. My mom had it, and she used a patch containing lidocaine. Health Question & Answer

You cannot give someone else the shingles. A person with shingles can give the chicken pox to someone who has not had the chicken pox before. Health Question & Answer



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