Effect of 5% Lidocaine cream and cold cream compared between plastic wrapper and non plastic wrapper on pain reduction in early healed herpes zoster : A Randomized Clinical Trial

Authors

  • Vich Thampanya DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, CHIANGRAI PRACHANUKROH HOSPITAL, CHIANGRAI, THAILAND
  • Yaowaluck Binthisong DEPARTMENT OF NURSE, CHIANGRAI PRACHANUKROH HOSPITAL, CHIANGRAI, THAILAND
  • Orawan Kumsamut DEPARTMENT OF NURSE, CHIANGRAI PRACHANUKROH HOSPITAL, CHIANGRAI, THAILAND
  • Pamornsri Sriwongpan DEPARTMENT OF NURSE, CHIANGRAI PRACHANUKROH HOSPITAL, CHIANGRAI, THAILAND

Keywords:

Herpes zoster, Post herpetic neuralgia, Pain score

Abstract

Background: The patients who recover from Herpes zoster may face a problem of post herpetic neuralgia. The incidence of post herpetic neuralgia is 14.3% of all patients. The treatment of this complication is cumbersome. The recommendation treatments are as following Oxycodone, Amitryptylline, Maprotiline, Pregabalin, Carbamazepine. Those medications have some side effects . There are many reports of prescribing 5% Lidocaine cream for the treatment of post herpetic neuralgia. So, this study was conducted to determine that it may help to protect from pain if 5% Lidocaine cream be prescribed early after scab detached from Herpes zoster ulcer.

Methods: We use Randomized Clinical trial (RCT) to randomize the healed herpes zoster’s patient and the scab should be fallen not more than 7 days  to be 4 groups.

The 1st group will be assigned to use 5%Lidocaine cream 3 times/day with plastic wrapper for 30 minutes.

The 2nd group will be assigned to use 5%Lidocaine cream 3 times/day

The 3rd group will be assigned to use Cold cream  3 times/day with plastic wrapper for 30 minutes.

The 4th group will be assigned to use Cold cream  3 times/day.

We will follow the pain score from the first day of application to study every 2 weeks for 4 visits.

Results: All 4 groups are indifferent in sex. We detect Herpes zoster more common in old age group, especially more than 60 years. Most patient( 96.8%) live in Chiang rai province. No allery to anti-pain cream detected. 41.9% of all patients have herpes zoster 14 days before enrollment. 71% of all patients had the fallen scab before enrollment 3-5 days. The most common location detected  are at trunk and lower limbs. The pain score in the first day of study is 3-8 for 70%. Every group has decreased pain score during the time pass, which pain score drop’s curve in each group is indifferent in statistics value. We detect that the 4th group which is cold cream has tendency to be more drop in pain score than others.

Conclusion: After the scab from herpes zoster is fallen, The usage of 5%Lidocaine cream with plastic wrapper may not be better than Cold cream in promoting protection of pain reduction. So Cold cream may be enough for this issue.

References

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Published

2026-05-29

How to Cite

Thampanya, V., Binthisong, Y., Kumsamut, O., & Sriwongpan, P. (2026). Effect of 5% Lidocaine cream and cold cream compared between plastic wrapper and non plastic wrapper on pain reduction in early healed herpes zoster : A Randomized Clinical Trial. Thai Journal of Dermatology, 31(4), 209–218. retrieved from https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/TJD/article/view/282568

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Original articles