To explore the application effect of valaciclovir combined with LED red light irradiation in the treatment of patients with herpes zoster. Methods A total of 80 patients with herpes zoster admitted to Affiliated Wuxi Fifth Hospital of Jiangnan University from January 2022 to April 2023 were randomly divided into control group and observation group, with 40 patients in each group. The control group was treated with valaciclovir, and the observation group was treated with valaciclovir combined with LED red light irradiation. The pain degree, herpes stopping time, scab time, descrustation time, clinical efficacy and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups before and after treatment. Results The VAS score of the observation group after treatment was (2.32±0.78) scores, which was lower than (5.21±0.95) scores of the control group (P <0.05). The herpes stopping time, scab time and descrustation time in the observation group were shorter than those in the control group (P <0.05). The total effective rate of treatment in the observation group was 95.00%, which was higher than 75.00% in the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 5.00%, which was lower than 25.00% in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion The clinical efficacy of valaciclovir combined with LED red light irradiation in the treatment of patients with herpes zoster is ideal, which can improve the pain degree of patients, shorten the herpes stopping time, scab time and descrustation time, improve the safety of treatment, and improve the symptoms.