Chronic Pain Living With Can Capsaicin Cream Ease Your Pain? Health benefits, uses, side effects By Cathy Wong facebook twitter Cathy Wong is a nutritionist and wellness expert. Her work is regularly featured in media such as First For Women, Woman's World, and Natural Health. Learn about our editorial process Cathy Wong Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Rochelle Collins, DO on November 20, 2019 linkedin Rochelle Collins, DO, is board-certified in family medicine. She is an assistant clinical professor of family medicine at Quinnipiac University and works in private practice in Hartford, Connecticut. Learn about our Medical Review Board Rochelle Collins, DO Updated on January 06, 2020 Print JGI / Jamie Grill / Getty Images Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Uses Benefits Possible Side Effects If you live with pain, you may know all too well how difficult it can be to manage. You may have heard of capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers. When applied topically in the form of a cream, ointment, gel, lotion, or transdermal skin patch, capsaicin is thought to provide pain relief by temporarily changing the way your body processes pain. Verywell / Cindy Chung Uses of Capsaicin Cream When applied to the skin, capsaicin appears to cause local desensitization after a period of initial irritation. Capsaicin cream is said to relieve pain resulting from a wide range of conditions, including: Back painGoutHeadaches, such as cluster headachesJoint pain, such as knee painNeuropathyOsteoarthritisRheumatoid arthritisSciaticaShingles (post-herpetic neuralgia)Tendonitis, such as tennis elbowTrigeminal neuralgia Benefits of Topical Capsaicin A number of preliminary studies suggest that topical capsaicin may offer a variety of health benefits. Here's a look at findings from the available research. Chronic Neuropathic Pain In a 2017 review, researchers sized up eight previously published clinical trials. These involved 2,488 participants) examining the effectiveness of a high-concentration capsaicin patch in people with chronic neuropathic pain (pain caused by damage to nerves, either from an injury or disease) from the following conditions: Postherpetic neuralgiaHIV-neuropathyPeripheral diabetic neuropathy The report revealed that a small number of participants who had the patch reported that they were "much" or "very much" improved after using the capsaicin patch. A previous review concluded that the data on low-concentration capsaicin patches (containing less than 1% capsaicin) was insufficient to make any treatment recommendations and suggested that it was not effective. A high concentration (8%) capsaicin patch is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of postherpetic neuralgia pain. Due to the initial pain and burning sensation, the patch is applied under local anesthetic by a medical professional in a clinic or hospital setting. Osteoarthritis Pain In a report published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage in 2014, medical experts evaluated evidence on the use of drug and non-drug treatments for osteoarthritis to provide guidelines for the management of knee osteoarthritis pain. In the report, capsaicin was deemed appropriate for people with osteoarthritis of the knee (rather than multi-joint osteoarthritis) who do not have other relevant health conditions. Lower Back Pain For a report published in Spine in 2016, researchers sized up previously published trials evaluating the effectiveness of herbal therapies (including capsaicin cream or a plaster) in people with low back pain, and found that capsaicin reduces pain more than a placebo. The authors noted, however, that additional trials are needed to compare the therapies to standard treatment. Other Conditions Topical capsaicin is also being explored for: ItchingCannabis hyperemesis syndrome (a condition that can result from prolonged cannabis use)Pelvic painBurning mouth syndromeAs a second-line treatment for vulvodynia Possible Side Effects Studies have reported local adverse skin reactions (such as a burning sensation, pain, itching, and skin redness) in the early period of treatment that typically subsides after one to two weeks of treatment. With the high-concentration patch, the burning sensation and pain are sometimes described as feeling like a "bad sunburn." Other side effects include: The high-concentration patch may cause pain, inflammation, coughing, swelling, redness, and skin blisters, with pain increasing in the first two days (often requiring pain medication) and then slowly decreasing.Transient high blood pressure has been noted, particularly with high concentration capsaicin. The risk is considered greater in people with a pre-existing cardiovascular disease.People with HIV neuropathy have reported diarrhea, weight loss, and throat infections after the use of the high-concentration patch.The safety of long-term, repeated applications of high concentration capsaicin isn't known. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, speak with your doctor. If you have a chronic nerve condition, consult your healthcare provider before using capsaicin cream. Tips for Application Here are some tips when using capsaicin cream:Avoid contact with eyes and mucous membranes, and wash hands thoroughly afterward.Although people sometimes use gloves when applying capsaicin cream at home, capsaicin can diffuse through latex gloves.Capsaicin shouldn't be applied to open wounds or broken skin.Care should be taken to avoid contact with the cream by others, particularly with children and pets.If you apply capsaicin cream to your feet, they should be covered to avoid contaminating the floor and spreading the capsaicin.Cool, dry packs wrapped in cloth are said to alleviate the burning sensation that occurs after application. They are applied only for brief periods to avoid injuring the skin. A Word From Verywell While not everyone responds to capsaicin cream, it may help some people manage pain in conjunction with standard treatment. The cream does require regular applications and has side effects. Higher-concentration patches are applied in a medical setting. While the higher-concentration patch doesn't require repeated daily applications, it can cause significant burning and pain in the initial days after it is applied. If you're considering trying capsaicin cream or any other form of topical capsaicin, speak to your healthcare provider to see whether it's appropriate for you and to find out what to expect at the recommended dose. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Fattori V, Hohmann MS, Rossaneis AC, Pinho-ribeiro FA, Verri WA. Capsaicin: current understanding of its mechanisms and therapy of pain and other pre-clinical and clinical uses. Molecules. 2016;21(7). doi:10.3390/molecules21070844 Derry S, Moore RA. Topical capsaicin (low concentration) for chronic neuropathic pain in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Sep 12;(9):CD010111. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010111 McAlindon TE, Bannuru RR, Sullivan MC, et al. OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2014 Mar;22(3):363-88. doi:10.1016/j.joca.2014.01.003 Gagnier JJ, Oltean H, van Tulder MW, Berman BM, Bombardier C, Robbins CB. Herbal medicine for low back pain: A Cochrane review. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2016 Jan;41(2):116-33. doi:10.1097/01.brs.0000249525.70011.fe Siemens W, Xander C, Meerpohl JJ, et al. 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