Deb:  Just to clarify what I said about shingles.  No doubt acyclovir
lessens the pain and duration of the episode of shingles itself (and
having had shingles in my 30's I remember that it was one of the few
times in life when I needed to take analgesics).  I was talking about the
use of acyclovir to prevent post-herpetic neuralgia.  After all, the
episode of shingles may be painful (extremely so!), but is self-limited;
whereas post-herpetic neuralgia is severe pain which can last months.  So
if there's a good chance of getting post-herpetic neuralgia, I believe
that using meds to try to prevent it is important.  But if the risk of
this complication is low, it's not an unreasonable option for a mother
who is uncomfortable about medication getting to her baby, to just not
take anything and suffer the pain a couple of extra days.
The point I'm trying to make is that our first question with any
medication in a breastfeeding mother should not be "is it breastfeeding
compatible?", but "is it necessary?".  Alicia.  [log in to unmask]