If you’ve ever had shingles, you know how painful it can be – especially if it’s not caught early enough to take the antiviral medication. That’s what happened to me about four years ago when I had shingles. I didn’t know what it was until it was too late.
One of the things I remember the most was not only how much it hurt, but how tired and run down I felt. Just awful. And then there’s the itch too. Not fun at all.
Treating shingles (herpes zoster) pain is hard because it’s nerve pain (neuropathic pain), the toughest there is to …read more

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N is also for…
Neuropathy: Pain caused by the nerve endings is called neuropathy. The most common neuropathies are diabetic neuropathy, a long-term effect of diabetes, and postherpetic neuralgia, which some people develop after having shingles.
NSAIDs: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, (NSAIDs) are pain relievers that include acetomeniphen (Tylenol), ASA (Aspirin), and ibuprofen (Advil). There are also some stronger, prescription NSAIDs. These medications provide pain relieve by reducing the inflammation.
Narcotics: Narcotics are controlled drugs such as codeine, morphine and fentanyl. These are pain relievers that work by altering the pain messages sent to the brain.

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DURECT Receives Orphan Drug Designation for Bupivacaine for Post-Herpetic Neuralgia
CUPERTINO, Calif., June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Durect Corporation announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted to Durect orphan drug designation for bupivacaine for relief of persistent pain associated with post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). Bupivacaine is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Eladur(TM), Durect’s investigational transdermal drug patch. If Eladur is the first bupivacaine product approved for PHN, under the 1983 Orphan Drug Act Eladur will receive seven years of market exclusivity following the approval of the product by the FDA.
Eladur is an …read more

Living with chronic pain can be a nightmare for seniors, especially if they’re alone. Those who have little help may not get the right treatment they need either because they can’t get to the doctor or they can’t get their doctor to listen to them.
As the baby boomers are aging, this could become even more of an issue so the problem of pain in seniors needs to be addressed.
Here at the 10 common reasons why seniors have pain:

Falls/trauma – falling from lack of balance or weakness can end up into a nightmare of pain. Safety proofing the environment is …read more

Shingles (herpes zoster), a painful virus that lasts a few weeks in most people, can leave behind a life-time of pain and discomfort in some people. The estimated number is 20% of people who have shingles will develop this problem, called postherpetic neuralgia.
What is postherpetic neuralgia
Shingles is caused by the same virus that gave you the chicken pox. If you haven’t had the chicken pox, you can’t develop shingles. After the chicken pox goes away, the virus that caused it remains in your body and – for most people – never causes another problem.
However, in some people, the virus …read more

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Pain threshold
Palliative care
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Paresthesia
Pathology
Pediatrician
Peripheral
Phantom limb pain
Physiatrist
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