I had shingles and took 3x1000mg of valacyclovir x7 days. I still have persistent pain but the rash is diminishing. Is this normal?

Hello Ma'am,

Effectively, pain that persists beyond the duration of antiviral treatment is normal when treating shingles since the medication does not impact the pain, but rather aims to decrease the severity and duration of shingles symptoms.

Generally, shingles-related pain subsides as the lesions heal, but it may persist after healing and is commonly referred to as "post-herpetic pain." While waiting for your lesions to heal completely, I recommend that you use Tylenol or Advil (if you have no contraindications) to relieve your pain. Unscented moisturizer can also help keep the skin moisturized and thus improve healing.

If your pain persists after your lesions have healed, I would advise you to see your doctor again so that he or she can assess the situation and suggest a treatment for relief.

Hopefully this answers your question,

Isabelle Racanelli, pharmacy student

Supervised by Alexandre Chagnon, pharmacist