My son was diagnosed Friday with shingles. He was put on an antiviral, ibuprofen 800mg, and a medicine to (hopefully) reduce the duration of the illness.
My question is this: does anyone know of anything I can do for him or give him that will help make him more comfortable? He has alot of pain and the ibuprofen doesn't cover it all, but they don't want to put him on anything narcotic because this could last for months. So are there any creams, packs, powders, over the counter or herbal things I could do to help relieve his discomfort?
Any advice would be great!!
Thanks!
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I actually learned more here than I did from the dr., the pharmacists (2 of them), and every website I looked at. I am so grateful that there is a place moms can go to learn things from other moms. After all moms are just about the only real experts! We are still at war with the clinic, but we have turned a corner on the spreading and he says he is much more comfortable. About half of the spots are scabbing over. Thanks again for all your advice.
I had a severe case of shingles and the only thing that helped the pain was Aloe with Lidacane. It is green in color and it helped tremendously. Good Luck I know they are very painful.
I have chronic shingles so I know what the pain can be like, but unfortunatley there is not alot that can be done. There are other meds besides narcotics that I have tried but they have not helped me even narcotics really don't help because it is nerve pain that he is feeling. Neurontin was one of the meds that I tried to control pain it is usually used for seizures the only problem is it might make him kind of dopey or maybe not. Also L-lysine which is a natural med seemed to help more than anything but it too quit working for me. I am sorry that I wasn't much help bu tjust keep telling him it will get better. By the way changes in temperature makes it hurt worse! So don't try hot or cold packs! If it itches try some benedryl or something by mouth don't put anything on it it will burn like crazy! I know how much this stinks but the anti virals will help it to go away. Once the sores are healed then put alot of lotion on it to help from scaring.
Hi L., what a trying thing for you all. I am a nurse of 35 years and have seen shingles and watched as people writhed in pain. Recently I discoverd Flex Creme. When my friend was in the hospital after a motorcycle accident, with 4 broken ribs and a very bruised shoulder. He requested my Flex Creme for his shoulder because he had used it on his knees before and knew how well it worked. You can have it shipped in 2 days. You can go to www.sjetheredge.pharmanex.com. I used it on my sore elbow this am before ever getting out of bed and it is amazing. See for your self and your son. Good luck and prayers your way.
Be careful with how you treat this. My daughter had shingles a year ago and is still sick. Viruses can trigger immune responses in the body. My daughter could be developing an autoimmune disease. Her body is still out of wack. We have seen many doctors from every field. We have recently discovered she does not have any immunity to the pnemo viruses ans meningitus. Her biggest complaints are severe headaches. You may want to talk to an osteopath who will offer you more natural ways to treat his condition. You don't want to add too much extra chemicals to his system. His body may not like it and respond badly. Good luck to u.
I agree with L.. There is no reason they cannot treat the acute pain now with something stronger. If he is in a lot of pain, it needs to be treated. It is a JCAHO initiative that ALL pain gets adequately treated. While your doctor may not be affiliated with a hospital, he should still be practicing sound medicine. Just because you take something to deal with the inital pain, if you get it under control you may not need the strong stuff the whole time.
R.
PS Shingles occurs when the virus lies dormant in the body. My understanding is that the only people who get shingles are those who had the illness because the vaccine is not a 'live' vaccine people who are vaccinated don't have the virus lying dormant in their system. You can only get shingles if you have had the chicken pox.
I can empathize with him (and you) totally as I had a full blown case of Shingles for three months. I found GREAT relief for the rash by mixing a few drops of eucalyptus oil in 2Tbls of almond oil and gently smoothing it over the rash every few hours. It healed up just fine... don't rub or pick at it.
As far as the pain is concerned, I used a heating pad (not too hot)on my back when sitting or lying down, put extra padding on my bed where my torso was and sat out exposing the rash to sun for 15 mins a day to help it heal. I also took showers (ok to gently wash rash)and took it very easy. People with this illness cannot take stress so I was very thankful that I have an understanding and patient husband and family.
There was a point 2 weeks into it that my Dr. had to increase the heavy duty pain medication but the meds were not lasting long enough between doses and I truly was in agony. I decided that I had to get off them somehow and find another way to deal with it. When my husband told me that a family friend who happens to be a chiropractor said that he could help me, I agreed and saw him the same day. Well, not having had any chiropractic adjustments before, I really didn't know what to expect. He explained that the latent chicken pox virus which lies dormant in the spinal column seeks a pathway out along a nerve in the back and inflames the nerve. He gave me a painless adjustment to relieve pressure on the nerve and I felt INSTANTANEOUS RELIEF !!! and I was able to stop the heavy duty drugs that day. Never did it cross my mind that Chiropractic care would be so beneficial. I continued to go 2-3 times a week for a couple weeks and then every two weeks. I still had shingles and felt very listless for quite a while but just knowing that the pain could be controlled in a natural way was very encouraging. Now, some days were better than others and I did take normal doses of Motrin or Tylenol when needed but certainly not every 6 hours like before Chiro adjustments.
I hope that you will consider this help for your son. I know that I was helped greatly and considered it a blessing for sure. I'll be praying for you all.
Have you spoken with the treating physician or a pharmacist about the pain and providing something stronger to cover the pain?
When I was in chemo last year, I had awful swelling of my veins (phlebitis) when I received it in my right arm. Lidocaine patches worked really well for me but required an Rx. I don't know if they would touch a case of shingles. But, I'd certainly speak with the physician/pharmacist to explain what's happening and what your options are since he is still pediatric. A lot of drugs aren't studied in kids, don't have the official FDA approval for pediatric use and may not be covered by insurance if prescribed as such.
Just curious if he had the vaccine? I just wonder if there is any correlation with having or not having the vaccine and getting shingles. My kids will only get the vaccine if they haven't had chicken pox by puberty.
