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Post herpetic itch

Posted , 15 users are following.

Srini
Srini

I had shingles on my face and inside my eye (trigeminal) just over 4 wks ago. I have severe itching of eyelid, eyebrow, forehead & scalp, unbearable!

I've tried coconut oil mixed with olive oil, it felt like it actually increased the itching! I also am using lidocaine patches and Carbemazepine(tegretol) 500mg. cold ice gel packs give some relief but difficult to use it 24 × 7.

Anyone has a better solution? Please let me know. I'm almost ready to tear my skin and scalp out but try very hard not to scratch. Driving me crazy!

4 likes, 29 replies

29 Replies

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  • sandeep97906
    sandeep97906 Srini

    Posted

    I've suffered shingles in year 2013 and later on having phn since then. For first 6 months I used all the traditional creams and medicine with no effect. Later on I told the doctor that I'll endure the pain but not the side effects of medicines. With own experiment and research I found coconut oil giving me great relief from itching as well as pain on the nerve. I suffered shingles on sciatic nerve of right leg. Along with coconut oil I used mezerium 30 a homeopathic medicine making my life quite bearable. After that I also developed a herpetic itch which later on last year developed into seborrheic dermatitis for which I'm still being treated with conventional medicines, homeopathy and aayurved. Incidentally I'm from India, my age is 72. Please see if coconut oil is of any help to you, you may apply it on affected area as well can consume 2 tablespoon a day and mezerium 30 thrice daily

  • debbie05610
    debbie05610 Srini

    Posted

    I know this is an older discussion but has anyone on here gotten any real relief from the itching?  I'm going insane.

  • joseph34465
    joseph34465 Srini

    Posted

    I got some cream it's a prescription (diclofenac Sodium Topical Gel. 1% and across the counter Biofreeze. I have had the post pain for going on 2 years. i just went to a Neurologist to have some test run and like all the rest they just don't know why it acts so different in people. Good Luck   PS I can tell you this. You really can;t power through Shingles. As bad as you feel now it will get better.     

    • debbie05610
      debbie05610 joseph34465

      Posted

       Thank you, I’m gonna call the doctor and see if she can’t call something in for the itching. 
  • hope4cure
    hope4cure Srini

    Posted

    Hydroxyzine HCL  25 mg for the miserable itching, and the vaccine was a huge help given after the breakout have ended. It has lessoned the duration and severity. 

     

    • debbie05610
      debbie05610 hope4cure

      Posted

       Because I have MS, the doctor told me I cannot get the vaccine and she also said the vaccine was not necessary because I took the antiviral. The rash itself cleared up within five days but the pain and itching are very much still there.    I’ll call the doctor and find out if she can’t call in something. 
  • karla50450
    karla50450 Srini

    Posted

    Hi Srini. Have just joined this discussion group. Had shingles January 2016 and have had severe post herpetic neuralgia ever since the initial infection subsided. Tried everything the doctors have prescribed with little to no effect. Tried CDB oils also and the topical cream also containing CBD but found this had very little effect as well. Was on a medical trial here in Australia - medicinal cannabis is illegal still here -but the cost they charged for the oils was just so high that after 6 months I literally ran out of money to continue with this treatment. Also they changed the ratio of CBD/THC so many times that by the time I called a halt to the trial my body was struggling t cope with it all of the changes.

    Was recommended by the latest doctor I consulted to 'try' lidocaine patches and found they did give relief - didn't 'fix' the problem but certainly knocked back the worst of the pain.

    Currently having severe postherpetic itching which is nearly driving me crazy. Nothing seems to help and I am getting desperate. Any good news available anywhere in the world for this condition?

    Looking forward to hearing from any other sufferers as to how they are managing this

    Cheers

    K

    • scrouch
      scrouch karla50450

      Posted

      Hi

      I started getting shingles around my right eye the Monday before Christmas. Started getting vesicles on my eyebrow on the Wednesday, but didn't realise it was shingles until Thursday. Started antivirals on the Saturday (Boxing Day). I didn't realise that the hardest part is the recovery, although I well understand that now. I didn't sleep for the best part of two weeks and had an eye close over for a few weeks (all post infection). I had very sensitive eyes, and horrible reactions to eye drops (chloramphenicol and hyaluronic acid: other than normal saline, I am not game to try anything else). Eventually I got codeine, which helped me sleep but otherwise made me feel horrible and gave me a feeling that I was suffocating, so instead I rely on cold packs, ibuprofen and paracetamol.

      I have read that B12 injections can reduce pain and B1 injections can reduce itching. I tried both of these intramuscularly with no noticeable benefit. The research I found suggested that B12 and B1 had to be give subcutaneously at the site of the infection to be effective: eventually the pain and itching made me try these things. I give the subcutaneous injections of B12 once or twice daily (300 micrograms/ 0.3 mls administered with a 30 gauge insulin syringe): it gives a little pain relief, but the effect is limited to a small area, so I inject over the most painful spot. I have been injecting B12 subcutaneously for a bit over a week, but I believe that I will need to continue for about four weeks to see a benefit. B1 subcutaneous injections I have just started (~40 mg twice daily): it seems to control the itch well and appears to give greater coverage, so an injection in the centre reduces the itchiness of the whole area (scalp, eye, and surrounds).

      I am not writing this as advice and I would caution others not to try this, but my pain has been terrible: as the injections helped a little I wanted to give an account of my experience.

      Cheers

  • karla36
    karla36 Srini

    Posted

    I was diagnosed on 1/21/21. Shingles was on my scalp, forehead and right eye. The blisters cleared within a reasonable time, but this incessant itching on my scalp and in my eye is maddening. I am on Valtrex for a year and still taking Gabapentin 300mg three times a day. I have said to friends and family that I feel as if the doctor's have thrown their hands up and said, "We'll see you again in two weeks" (which entails co-pays to two different doctors every two weeks) and nothing changes. I'm sure they are doing what they can, but the itching I'm experiencing is sometimes debilitating and I have a hard time believing there's NOTHING that can be done. I am fortunate to still be working remotely, but don't know what I'm going to do when I have to return to the office. I can't sit with ice on my face and scalp all day. I have become a sincere advocate of the vaccine. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Just wanted to share because I feel sometimes as if I'm not heard by those who can't relate!

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