A nasal spray containing an ingredient of hot peppers can help treat the acute pain of post-herpes neuralgia characteristic of shingles.
The spray blocks the signal in the trigeminal nerve , which is responsible for pain in the face. It is different in feeling for everyone, but is most often described as burning, stabbing, strong piercing and throbbing.
The complication of shingles affects one in 5 people. Severe chronic pain in the development of post-herpes neuralgia can last up to 3 months. In more severe cases, it lasts for years.
The risk increases with age. Post-herpes neuralgia affects one-third of people over the age of 80.
Conventional treatments include low-dose antidepressants and medications prescribed for epilepsy.
The new spray, developed by Winston Laboratories in the United States, contains capsaicin. This is a compound that is found and gives the spicy and peppery taste of hot peppers.
Researchers have found that this property of capsaicin has a nerve-desensitizing effect.
The study involved 40 people with post-herpes neuralgia. They are divided into two groups. The first group used the new spray twice a day for a week, the second group was a placebo .
The results showed a 40% reduction in pain and improved sleep in volunteers using a capsaicin-containing nasal spray .
Shingles is an acute viral infectious disease characterized by a painful and characteristically located skin rash, most commonly on the chest. It is due to reactivation of the chickenpox virus in immunocompromised or very elderly patients.