Topical Pain Medicine To Treat Shingles

If you’ve ever suffered from shingles you know what post herpetic neuralgia feels like – extremely painful! At American Integrative Pharmacy, we can provide topical nerve pain medications coupled with anti-inflammatories and slight numbing agents.

These will release the tension from the inflamed nerves and can bring almost immediate relief. We offer topical, not oral medications, so it minimizes any side effects, and the medicine can be applied directly to the source of the pain.

American Integrative Pharmacy (AIP), led by Dr. Neema Yazdanpanah, provides safe and proven compounding medications to patients in Long Beach, Torrance, Los Angeles, South Bay Orange County, Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes, Southern California areas, and online nationwide.

Prevalence of Shingles in the United States

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in every 3 people are expected to develop shingles. More than half the people that live to the age of 85 will experience shingles. Further, they can develop it more than once.

People who have had chickenpox are at a greater risk of developing shingles. Hence, it is important to get vaccinated early so that you can protect yourself from the pain of the virus. Risk of developing shingles is higher as one gets older. Your risk can increase if your immune system is weak, or you are ill and under stress.

Painful Experience Lasting Weeks

Shingles is an extremely painful experience. Symptoms include burning, pain or tingling, and itching sensation on one side of the body or face on a small area. It is followed by a red rash in the form of small, fluid filled blisters. Generally, a single shingles outbreak session may last anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks.

There is excruciating pain even when the blisters clear up. This may continue in the area where the blisters and rash had been. This condition is also known as postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

About 10 to 18% people will experience shingles with PHN as per the CDC. Nerve pain associated with shingles may be the worst part of this condition, lasting indefinitely. Older adults are at a greater risk of having problems with PHN.

Treatment Options

Shingles happens because of a virus. Oral treatment using an antiviral has to be started within 72 hours to cut down the severity or length of the condition. Oral antivirals, such as Acyclovir oral tablets are commonly prescribed. However, these tablets may not help with immediate pain.

There are several commercially mass-produced medications with active antiviral pharmaceutical ingredients for patients suffering from herpes virus infections, such as cold sores, genital herpes, and shingles. Generally, these medications are not included in insurance plans and come with high copays.

Commercially available acyclovir cream without steroids is highly expensive and is available only in small quantities. This doesn’t help with immediate pain as well.

Treat Shingles Nerve Pain with AIP’s Topical Compounded Medications

There are not many options in commercial medication for helping patients with the terrible pain caused as a result of shingles. This is where the compounding pharmacists at AIP come in useful. We can help you with shingles by compounding a customized combination of topical cream or gel with the right antiviral. In addition, we can add multiple ingredients for helping with blister or rash pain besides extreme nerve pain.

These are a few commonly requested compounded prescriptions for shingles that we see at AIP:

• Acyclovir 5%/Lidocaine 2%/Hydrocortisone 2.5% Topical
• Acyclovir 5%/Lidocaine 2% Topical
• Acyclovir/Gabapentin/Ketoprofen/Amitriptyline HCl/Tetracaine Topical Gel
• Acyclovir/Amitriptyline HCl/Ketoprofen/Bupivacaine HCl/Gabapentin Topical

AIP provides advanced compounding pharmacy solutions, including online prescription refills to patients in Long Beach, Torrance, Los Angeles, South Bay Orange County, Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes, Southern California areas, and online nationwide.

California Pharmacy’s Online Compound Prescriptions 

For more information on compound pharmacy medications available or to make an online prescription purchase, please click here or call Toll Free 1-855-247-7948.

American Integrative Pharmacy is located in Torrance, CA serving residents in and around Orange County, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Lomita and surrounding areas. Online prescription sales are available across the US.