Will Botox Help Nerve Damage in Face from Shingles?

asked 8 months ago by Marie in Pa. in Spartansburg, Pa.
Latest answer by Ronald Shelton, MD
Question viewed 475 times
Tags: candidate, nerve damage, shingles

I've had nerve damage and PAIN for three years from shingles in left side of face. Would Botox help the pain ?

9 answers to Will Botox Help Nerve Damage in Face from Shingles?

Shingles nerve pain and botox

There are reports of Botox being used to treat pain from Shingles in the chronic form. I'm not aware of the mechanism of action and it has been theorized that the Botox blocks more than just acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter used to conduct signals from nerves to muscles. This needs to be studied further.

Ronald Shelton, MD
Manhattan Dermatologist

Will Botox Help Nerve Damage in Face from Shingles?

IMHO, you should seek out a neorologist or pain specialist that is experienced using the various neorotoxins: (Botox, Dysport and Xeomin) and have a consultation.

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Post Herpetic Neuralgia and Botox

Absolutely Botox may have a high likelihood of helping with post herpetic neuralgia due to Shingles. It will probably fall under a Neurologists specialty. good Luck

Charles Virden, MD
Reno Plastic Surgeon

www.virdenmd.com

Facial neuralgia

The answer is possibly. But see a Neurologic specialist ( Neurologist ) who does pain work and get his opinion.

Richard Galitz, MD
Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon

BOTOX for shingles pain

BOTOX can be a miracle treatment for post-herpetic neuralgia, the pain that sometimes comes after shingles. It is injected in a "point and shoot" manner, and often brings relief for this very painful condition. Dilute cortisone injected in the same manner also works well.

Barry Resnik, MD
Miami Dermatologist

www.drresnik.com

BOTOX® can be useful to treat pain in the face after shingles

BOTOX® can be useful to treat pain in the face ["post herpetic neuralgia" = PHN] after shingles. Several treatment sessions may be needed. If shingles has caused relaxation of muscles on one side of the face, sometimes BOTOX® is used to relax the same muscles on the opposite side of the face, in order to restore facial symmetry for the patient.

Kevin C. Smith, MD
Niagara Falls Dermatologic Surgeon

I am sorry to learn that you suffer from post-herpetic neuralgia.

Botulinum toxin has been used as a treatment of pain that can follow after an episode of herpes zoster. However, this treatment cannot be considered a proven treatment of this condition. Rather than experimenting with such a treatment, it is much more reasonable to see a neurologist regarding this issue and try the more established treatments first.

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD
Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

Botox For Nerve Pain

I have had excellent success injecting Botox to alleviate several different types of nerve pain including nerve pain from shingles ("post-herpetic neuralgia"). A study in the December 2010 issue of Pain Medicine showed that the majority of patients receiving this treatment experienced a decrease in overall pain scores, improvement in sleeping, and a decreased need for pain medication. The effects lasted for at least 3 months. If you chose to... more

Alexander Gross, MD
Atlanta Dermatologic Surgeon

Botox for Pain from Shingles

I have injected Botox for excessive pain from Shingles before, though this is an off-label use of the product. There are various studies about the effectiveness of this, but most of my patients say they experienced about 50%-70% improvement overall. You will need to consult a board-certified, very experienced physician for this type of injection, as the sites the Botox needs to be injected differ greatly than the cosmetic use of the product and the dosing needs to be very specific to ensure... more