When talking about shingles, dermatologists recommend the following to their patients:
Pain relief
To relieve the pain and itching of shingles, you can:
- Cool the rash with ice packs, cool wet cloths, or cool baths.
- Apply calamine lotion to the blisters.
- Cover the rash with loose, non-stick sterile bandages.
- Wear loose cotton clothes around the body parts that hurt.
Prevention
A shingles vaccine is available for people ages 60 years and older who have never had shingles. The benefits of getting this vaccine include the following:
- In one study, this vaccine lowered the risk of getting shingles by 50%.
- If you do get shingles after getting the vaccine, you are likely to have less pain.
The Centers for Disease Control recommends this vaccine for everyone 60 and older.
Learn more about shingles: