There are several different types of remedies for nerve pain. Some of the remedies are also used to treat other disorders. Anti-epileptic medications decrease the activity of nerves, which lowers the pain. Anti-inflammatory medications treat pain and inflammation. Antidepressants treat those suffering with depression and pain. But there are also remedies which specifically target just nerve pain.
Antiepileptic Medications
Some of the seizure medications are also remedies for nerve pain, according to Allan Ropper, M.D., professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School in "Adams & Victor's Principles of Neurology." Carbamazepine, phenytoin, pregabalin and gabapentin are all anti-epileptic medications that treat nerve pain. Neurologists do not yet completely understand how they decrease pain, but they do know that they decrease the activity of the nerves. They are very effective and widely used, especially to treat trigeminal neuralgia. This is a disorder of severe, excruciating nerve pain on the face. A blood vessel or tumor presses on the trigeminal nerve, or cranial nerve five, which causes pain.
Lidocaine Gel
Dr. Ropper notes that lidocaine gel is a treatment for nerve pain. The gel is placed directly on the painful area. It is useful in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia. A virus called the varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox. This virus can stay in some of the nerve cells and reappear as herpes zoster, also referred to as the "shingles." Postherpetic neuralgia is the severe nerve pain that can develop after herpes zoster. The pain will be in the same area as the herpes zoster attack and can last for months, years or a lifetime. Many people, especially the elderly, suffer from this disorder.
Corticosteroids
In The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals, Russell Portenoy, M.D., professor of neurology and anesthesiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, writes that corticosteroids with the name of prednisone and dexamethasone are remedies for nerve pain if people are also experiencing inflammation. Corticosteroids are steroid hormones that are made in the outer area of the adrenal gland, called the adrenal cortex. These medications are anti-inflammatory. They fight inflammation by suppressing the production of proteins that are inflammatory. They also stimulate the production of those proteins that are anti-inflammatory.
Neuromodulation
This refers to a remedy called TENS, or the transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Electrodes are placed on the body. Small, electrical currents go from the electrodes through the skin, along some of the nerves or even through the back of the spinal cord. It is the stimulation of the nerves that decreases the nerve pain, as explained by Dr. Portenoy.
Antidepressants
Ropper writes that many people suffering with depression also have nerve pain. Antidepressants are a remedy for both. This includes amitriptyline, doxepin and imipramine. These medications block the recycling of a substance called serotonin, because low serotonin levels can lead to depression.
References
- "Adams & Victor's Principles of Neurology"; Allan Ropper, M.D., Martin Samuels, M.D.; 2009
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Neuropathic Pain
