AboutJoe Haynes, R.Ph., MBA Expertise I can answer pharmacy/pharmacology questions as they relate to both pediatric and adult therapies. Please note that since I practice in Florida that I may not be able to answer specific questions regarding pharmacy practice in your state.
As a disclaimer, I have no financial interest in recommending or failing to recommend any drug product. My goal is to give you the best answer to your questions regardless of product.
Experience I have 24 years experience in pharmacy practice including pediatric and adult hospital, home-infusion, and long-term care (nursing home/ALF). I enjoy assisting with pediatric dosing and medication questions since children respond differently and are dosed differently than adults. I can help you determine if the dose you want to administer to your child is appropriate. I am currently director of pharmacy for a small community hospital in St. Petersburg, FL.
Organizations Florida Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists
American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists
Florida Pharmacy Association
Education/Credentials BS in Microbiology from Auburn University (1989)
BS in Pharmacy from Northeastern University (1994)
MBA (generalist) from St. Leo University (2005)
Question Hi Joe -
My wife suffers from shingles. She’s 57 years old. So far it’s been 8 weeks. What causes it… she’ll think it’s over, and then it starts up again. Some folks tell her to have a vaccine, others say it’s too late. The worst happens late at night, as she says that it’s like a knife stabbing her in the side. The areas concerned is on her left side, from the navel to the spine. Vomiting is frequent. Are there any home remedies or recommended medications? Please help!
Lar
Answer Larry-
My apologies for being tardy in answering your inquiry.
Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox- the varicella zoster virus. It lies dormant along the spinal nerves until some form of stress causes it to re-emerge.
There is no cure for it. Once the virus is in the body it remains there. The following is from WebMD which covers some of the most common treatments and ways of managing outbreaks.
There is no cure for shingles, but treatment may shorten the length of illness and prevent complications. Treatment options include:
* Antiviral medicines, sometimes in combination with corticosteroids, to reduce the pain and duration of shingles.
* Pain medicines, antidepressants, and topical creams to relieve long-term pain.
Initial treatment
As soon as you are diagnosed with shingles, your doctor probably will start treatment with antiviral medicines. If you begin medicines within the first 2 days of seeing the shingles rash, you have a lower chance of having later problems, such as postherpetic neuralgia. Early treatment of shingles is important, because the problems that can arise can be serious and resistant to treatment. For example, 40% to 50% of people with postherpetic neuralgia do not respond to treatment.6
The most common treatments for shingles include:
* Antiviral medicines, such as acyclovir, famciclovir, or valacyclovir, to reduce the pain and the duration of shingles.
* Over-the-counter pain medicines, such as acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen, to help reduce pain during an attack of shingles.
* Corticosteroids, in combination with antiviral medicine, to reduce pain and the duration of shingles.
* Topical antibiotics, applied directly to the skin, to stop infection of the blisters.
