Laser therapy is used in the treatment of both chronic post-herpetic neuralgia and trigeminal neuralgia.
Herpes zoster is a viral infection that causes a painful skin rash1,2. The infection is caused by the varicella-zoster virus which is also responsible for chickenpox. This is not a life-threatening disease. But it can be very painful if you are affected by it. There is no guaranteed medication for this disease. But you should visit a doctor at the early stage because early treatment can help you to shorten infection and lessen the chance of complications.
Though there are several ways to treat a herpes zoster patient, none is a totally successful treatment method. The shocking fact is – the virus may have so much resistance that it can ignore any medication and survive within a patient’s body to create more complications. But laser therapy has been proven highly successful and found effective in many cases where traditional therapies have failed.
Laser therapy (LLLT) has proven ability to heal many dermatological, musculoskeletal and soft tissue injuries. There are many strong and good reasons to use of laser therapy for conditions like neuralgia like in post herpetic neuralgia [PHN], shingles and trigeminal neuralgia.
Why should you visit a doctor within 72 hours?
Antiviral agents are typically used as medical treatment for herpes. The associated rush and pain decrease only if patient has received drug within 72 hours of onset.
If you cannot visit a doctor within 72 hours, you should visit her as soon as possible. The reason is – the earlier you start the treatment, the less complications and pain you may experience.
The quicker the doctor can catch it, the better the outcomes.
Laser therapy is safe and effective
Many clinicians have tested and found laser treatment is safe and effective for the management of various aches, pains and structural ailments. It can be used countless times daily too. They have also discovered that this treatment method can also be used as a pain management tool for herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia.
Proper dosages of red and infrared laser light cannot damage your tissue. This therapy is extremely safe if a properly trained laser therapist is delivering the treatment. Doctors had treated post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) patients who were unresponsive to conventional care and had experienced pain for at least six months3.
Moore, a researcher, had found that this therapy helped about 61% patient to reduce their pain4. He had found in his studies that the laser therapy success rate was around 78%4. Another study found that about 61% patients were pain free within one year of starting laser treatment5.
Laser treatment is easy and economical
Laser therapy is usually about 28% less expensive than conventional therapies4. This treatment is affordable and in many cases, patients may not need a long term treatment.
Rash may go but pain may stay
The rash usually heals within two to five weeks. The most common complication of zoster infection is – your residual nerve pain may continue months or even years after the rash has healed. Though the rash and pain usually last two to five weeks, about one in five patient develops a painful condition called post-herpetic neuralgia. The post-herpetic painful condition is difficult to manage because several complications may arise to affect your nerve system in several ways. Laser therapy is an effective pain management tool as you already know. The application of appropriate dosage of red and near-infrared light is a proven method to reduce pain and enhance nerve regeneration.
The pain of post-herpetic neuralgia is so unbearable to some patients that they commit suicide when they find that there is no treatment for such acute pain.
Comfortable for older people
This disease can affect up to 50% of all people who live to 85 years. Though young people can be victims of this viral disease, older age groups are common victims of this disease. Since the disease can lead to long term morbidity, it can be a nightmare for older people. Laser treatment can be comfortable to the old people who do not have the ability to go through other complex treatments due to several old age complications.
No side effects
Some doctors have carefully used laser therapy and did not notice any side effect during the treatment as well as during the follow up period of 8 weeks. But it is important to note that not everyone was totally healed. Some were totally healed and the rest were only partially healed. Patients were partially healed because they started delayed treatment and they had other medical complications. But it is very important to note one more time – starting your treatment as soon as possible is very urgent and important. This helps the doctors to treat you in a much easier way as complications arise as more time passes without treatment.
Laser treatment is more sophisticated than you may imagine
Laser treatment is successfully used not only in treating herpes zoster disease but also in treating many other conditions. Since we have an in-depth knowledge and experience on laser treatment, our experience helps us to handle each patient’s case with deep care, high professionalism and superb expertise as well as experience. Now we will show some conditions that we treat using laser so that you can feel more confidence in us.
Common conditions we treat with laser – sprain / strain injuries, muscle injuries / pulls / spasms, back and neck pain, spinal pain, headaches, TMJ / jaw pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow / lateral epicondylitis, medial elbow / medial epicondylitis, knee pain, patella pain, hip pain, coccyx pain, tail bone pain, trigger points, heel pain, achilles tendinitis pain, and plantar fasciitis.
We also treat many other conditions that fall under neurological conditions, arthritis/joint conditions, neurogenic pain and post-surgical pain categories.
Please be advised that this office will not treat the patients with antiviral. That would have been done by outside physicians. At this office, we only offer free consultancy so that you can discuss your case.
Call us now
Please call or visit us for free consultation. We may help you at any stage of your complications with our free consultancy.
Resources
1. Gilden DH, Cohrs RJ, and Mahalingam R. Clinical and molecular pathogenesis of varicella virus infection. Viral Immunol. 2003. 16 (3): 243–258. doi:10.1089/088282403322396073. PMID 14583142.
2. Zamula E. Shingles: An Unwelcome Encore. FDA Consum. 2001. 35(3): 21–25. Revised June 2005. PMID 11458545. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
3. Moore K et al. Double blind crossover trial of low level laser therapy in the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia. Laser Therapy. 1988. (premiere issue):7-10.
4. More K. Laser therapy in post-herpetic neuralgia. Laser Therapy. 1996. 8(1): 48.
5. Hong J N, Kim T H, and Lim S D. Clinical trial of low reactive-level laser therapy in 20 patients with post-herpetic neuralgia. Laser Therapy. 1990. 2(4): 167-170.