| If you suddenly develop severe pain in a limited area | | | | lasting the rest of your life. Fifty percent of people |
| on one side of your body, you may have shingles | | | | over 60 who develop shingles, and are not treated, |
| and need treatment immediately to prevent that pain | | | | will suffer from post-herpetic neuralgia and have |
| from lasting for the rest of your life. Shingles is | | | | severe pain in that nerve for the rest of their lives, |
| Chicken Pox the second time around. It's called | | | | while fewer than seven percent treated with |
| postherpetic neuralgia and when you have severe | | | | acyclovir will suffer permanent pain. Cortisones offer |
| pain that is not caused by an injury and your doctor | | | | little protection. If you develop postherpetic neuralgia, |
| cannot find a cause, you should get a blood test for | | | | your pain can be treated with a .025% capsaicin |
| herpes zoster and start taking Famvir or Valtrex | | | | (pepper) cream and tegretol or gabapentin |
| immediately to prevent the pain from becoming | | | | anticonvulsant pills. A report in the New England |
| permanent.The first time you get chicken pox, | | | | Journal of Medicine offers a more effective |
| blisters form over most of your body. After a week, | | | | treatment for post-herpetic neuralgia: 60 mg of |
| your immunity drives the chicken pox virus from your | | | | methyl prednisone, injected directly into the spinal |
| bloodstream, but it remains in your nerve roots for | | | | fluid, once a week for four weeks, lessens and even |
| the rest of your life. One of every in six people who | | | | cures the pain.For journal references on this article |
| get chicken pox will have the virus escape from | | | | see |
| nerves many years later to cause painful grouped | | | | Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 |
| blisters on the skin over the infected nerve on one | | | | years and practicing physician for more than 40 |
| side of the body.If you wait for characteristic blisters | | | | years; he is board certified in four specialties, including |
| to form, it may be too late to prevent the pain from | | | | sports medicine. |