I am 59 and have had shingles for almost a year. That hurts quite a lot. The painkillers hardly help. The TENS treatment also only helps moderately. What can I do?
Joris Bartstra, journalist with medical diploma
Shingles (herpes zoster) is a nerve infection caused by the chickenpox virus. This can damage nerves and cause pain. The damage is irreparable. Usually the pain diminishes with age. Nerve pain is not a ‘normal’ pain, but a disturbed stimulus from a damaged nerve. As a result, ordinary painkillers have little effect. What often does help are medicines against epilepsy and depression that influence the conduction of stimuli. Most of these result in a 50 percent reduction in complaints in 30 to 50 percent of patients. So it’s just a matter of finding what suits you best. TENS (a device that electrically stimulates nerves) has not been proven to work. Some patients say they do benefit. Often distraction helps too.
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