Prayers up... searching the net for you.
Your brother has my prayers. My FIL has this and it is obviously very painful. 'fraid I don't have any advice to offer though.
What Are the Treatments?
http://www.hipusa.com/eTools/webmd/A-Z_Encyclopedia/shinglestreatment.htm
Shingles Treatment in the East and West (Lots of Links)
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f00/web2/hayesconroya2.html
http://www.webmd.com/hw/shingles/hw75435.asp
That's some general information. I'm sure that his doctor has given him more. About the only thing that I'd add is to nail down the cause of his recent immune deficiency to make sure that this isn't secondary to something else that is going on.
Good luck.
Acyclovir was one of the first new generation anti-virals. There are a few others on the market now. Acyclovir may be the best for this situation, but if it doesn't do the trick one of they others may.
Prayers. Remember that if you or your family haven't been vaccinated or have never had chicken pox then you can get chickenpox from someone with shingles.
L-Lysine 500 mg/day, Valtrex
Prayers from TX
First, my sympathies.
Second, I don't have shingles but I have diabetic neuropothy which has similar symptoms. I can't use the antivirals that help shingles but I have found that B vitamins help with nerve damage that a topical painkiller like aspercreme is helpful and that an anti-convulsant helps the symptoms (and the one I take has a side effect of weight loss, which is nice.)
People with shingles and diabetic neuropathy are frequently given pain killers, something I am avoiding because the risk of addiction is high. On the other hand I had a much older relative with shingles and there was no reason for him not to take the pain killers since he was 80+.
I wish you and family good luck.
Hurts like HELL but he will be fine in about ten days. I still have scars on my left leg from many yaers ago. Make sure he has a BIG bottle of Burbon, and a hand full of pain killers every hour or so and he will do great.
I had Shingles in my mid 20's...During a time of great stress. They are very painful. The Valtrex your brother was prescribed is about the best there is. A good doctor should also give him pain killers, and prescribe rest. Calamine loction helps some, But once the blisters erupt, It is only time that helps.
It took about 3 months to run it's course, and some folks end up with post herpetic nueralgia to boot. (sp)
I wish your brother and your family well.It is good that you are there for him.
If I can help. Please let me know :)
There is a recently approved vaccine for folks over 60. If he's around any senior citizens, they may want to look into it. I don't know if it would do him any good at this point.
You are correct about the stress over your family situation weakening your brother's immune system.
Shingles is caused by a reactivation of the same virus that causes chicken pox, which is herpes-zoster virus. After the initial bout of chicken pox, the virus takes up residence in dorsal root ganglia...these are bundles of nerve cell bodies alongside the vertebrae, they are the bodies of the sensory neurons that run into the spinal cord.
The zoster virus tends to reactivate in times of weakened immunity...due to other illness, immunosuppression, and yes, stress as well.
The blisters will occur only on the area of the body that is innervated by the affected nerve. Also, remember that the virus is living in a sensory nerve. That means that your brother may have exceptionally high sensitivity to touch, et cetera in that area.
The anti-viral you are mentioning is likely acyclovir, which is the first-line treatment for this virus. Acyclovir has a pretty good side-effect profile, which means it shouldn't cause your brother many problems. Aside from that, I'd recommend lots of rest.
AVEENO anti itch cream will be a big help..I had a small case of them and it was the only thing I could find to give me relief. It's designed for chickenpox sufferers which is the precursor of having shingles as an adult it seems.
Is this after he would have gotten the initial sore?
There are measures that effectively stop shingles if you get to the doctor immediately after getting that early single sore.
However, if it is ignored and a real case comes on, then if he has the kind that leaves a permanent imprint on the nerves (a small minority have that one and my grandmother is among them), there are no effective treatments, I fear.
There are some trials going on that may have some solutions, but nothing else really can dull the nerve pain.
I'm sorry this has happened to your brother. This may really take a lot of stamina from him. My grandmother only gets a few hours of sleep a night from it now.
Another good excuse, aside from the season, for regular doses of stiff egg-nog!
A close friend of mine just got over shingles a little while ago. It was very painful, she was out of work for 6 weeks but she's fine now. It will take time but he'll be o.k.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1542174/posts
Shingles vaccine given OK by FDA advisory panel..
"The vaccine, Zostavax, was developed by Merck & Co., which sought to have it approved for use in people aged 50 and older."
While not fully approved for the market yet, it may be available through various testing programs, etc..
Take lots of fluids and lots of vitamiins + L-Lysine at least 500 mg. Prayers going up.