Is it allowed to drink alcohol when being treated for shingles? | Shingles

Is it allowed to drink alcohol when being treated for shingles?

During the treatment of shingles one should refrain from drinking alcohol. It weakens the immune system and has a bad influence on the course of the disease. The same applies to the consumption of nicotine or other drugs.Alcohol also reduces the effectiveness of some drugs. Thus, if consumed in the right way, antiviral drugs and painkillers may not work adequately and the healing of shingles may be delayed. Therefore, the consumption of alcohol or other drugs is not recommended as long as shingles is not completely healed.

Complications of shingles

Depending on the affected skin segment, other organs can also be affected by shingles. For example, if the face is affected, there is a risk of involvement of the eyes (zoster ophthalmicus) with possible corneal damage. There may also be damage to the ear (zoster oticus) with possible paralysis of the face (approx.

60%). Another complication is caused by immunodeficiency. Patients with a weakened immune system may develop generalized herpes zoster, for example.

The spread of the skin changes even beyond dermatomes creates a picture reminiscent of chickenpox. Here the pustules are distributed over the entire body. Furthermore, it can lead to an organ attack (pneumonia or inflammation of the liver).

The most feared complication is post-zosteric neuralgia. This is a searing, burning, permanent pain and pain attacks, which often occur only over the years. The pain is caused by the attack on the nerves.

Post-zoster neuralgia or post-zosteric neuralgia is a pain in the nerves that persists even after shingles has completely subsided. The cause is believed to be a hypersensitization (increased sensitivity) of the pain fibers in the affected area, which leads to a persistent, increased sensitivity to pain. Statistics show that about 10-15% of patients who have previously had a herpes zoster infection are affected.

The probability of suffering from post-zoster neuralgia increases with age. It occurs most frequently in the face. The pain is observed at the earliest four weeks after shingles has subsided and is described as dull-burning pain accompanied by repeated sharp, stabbing pain attacks.

In addition, the skin area may be hypersensitive to touch, painful discomfort and increased sensitivity to pain. Post-zoster neuralgia can be treated by administration of antidepressants (e.g. amitriptilin), anticonvulsants (e.g. gabapentin), local anesthetic creams or gels or by performing a sympathetic blockade.

In every second patient, recovery occurs on its own within one year, in every fourth patient the applied therapeutic procedure leads to healing of the post-zoster neuralgia. If the pain persists for more than a year, a complete recovery is unfortunately only very unlikely. The development of post-zoster neuralgia can be counteracted by an early therapy of the herpes zoster infection. Get more specific information about post-zoster neuralgia.