By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk
Once you catch it, the chicken-pox virus never goes away. It continues to secretly lurk in the nerve cells of your body years after you suffer a childhood bout of chicken pox. You may not even remember having had chicken pox if yours was a mild case. But when the herpes zoster virus, as it's called, reappears in adulthood, it's known as shingles. The name comes from the Latin and French words for belt or girdle because of the way the blisters wrap around the body's trunk.
Get plenty of rest. Avoid and manage stress.
One can use some home remedies for shingles to relieve the pain and the inflammations. They are:
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| Shingles Treatment |
- Apple cider vinegar: Mix ½ cup of Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 cups of water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spray onto the areas affected with Shingles for relief as required. Apple cider vinegar works to help fight the condition, and is also thought to help relieve pain.
- Hydrogen peroxide: Hydrogen peroxide can be used to dab the blisters, and reduce infection and inflammation.
- Baking soda bath: Adding baking soda to the bathtub has been known to be helpful for relieving pain. Add it to a lukewarm bath and bathe the body in it for at least 15 minutes. The body should be dried off without using a towel, as a towel can irritate the rash and blisters.
- Oats: Avena sativa or Oatstraw is a common herb used for shingles natural treatment. It is used for invigorating the nervous system and reducing stress. Stress management directly helps in controlling the severity of the shingles symptoms and also reduces the possibility of reappearance of the disease.
- Pear: Eating pear or drinking its juice in sufficient amounts is good, as it has a huge supply of antiviral caffeic acid that cures shingles.
- Cabbage Poultice: A fresh Cabbage Poultice can be made and applied over the areas affected with Shingles. Cabbage Poultice helps to absorb toxins and works to speed up the healing process of Shingles.
- Turmeric: Turmeric contains a substance called ‘curcumin’, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory.
- Yogurt: Apply a mixture of yogurt and zinc oxide along the particular path of the nerve. If it is applied before the outbreak it would help to control the eruption of blisters.
- Aloe and honey: Aloe Vera soothes irritated skin; it is also antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. One can mix it with raw organic Honey, which is another powerful Shingles home remedy.
- Aspirin: Anti-inflammatory drugs or aspirin are great ways to deal with the pain. Crush two Aspirin tablets and mix together with 1-2 Tablespoons of alcohol. When the mixture turns into a thin paste, spread it over the areas affected. This treatment helps to accelerate healing and relieve Shingles pain.
- Calamine lotion: Calamine lotion is one recommended means for relieving the symptoms of shingles. Simply wash and then completely dry the affected areas. Then, apply the calamine lotion liberally.
- Ice pack: Applying an ice pack or a wet cloth on the infected areas will help numb any pain. This is a very useful home remedy.
- One can request his/her doctor to recommend a topical anesthetic. These ointments will provide relief that is faster-acting than oral pain killers.
- Keeping the body cool and making sure that the blisters are kept dry and open are essential in treating shingles. Avoid scratching the shingles blisters, as it may worsen.
- Some other useful home remedies for shingles rashes are: vitamin E solutions or oils, peppermint or mug wort tea, cool goldenseal etc. One can dab the blisters with peppermint tea, mugwort, cool golden seal, apple cider vinegar and Vitamin E oil.
- Olive leaf extract is a very effective anti-viral that has been reported to conquer viruses that mainstream medicine considers impossible to eliminate, such as Hepatitis-C. One patient who had suffered from shingles for nine years reported experiencing complete relief within two days after beginning to use olive leaf extract.
- Proteolytic enzymes are enzymes that are produced naturally by the pancreas to help digest protein we eat. They are also found in certain foods, such as papaya and pineapple. Supplements derived from papaya (called papain), pineapple (called bromelain), and from animal pancreas can be found online, in health food stores, and in some grocery and drug stores.
- Anti shingles paste formula sufficient for two applications, one on day one, then skipping a day use a second time is as follows:
- 10 capsules of cayenne, 10 capsules of natural vitamin E, 20 drops of colloidal silver, 20 drops of DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide), any herbal/ corn meal etc to make the liquid more paste like as needed. Put into a bowl and mix until paste like. I usually use bee wise as a base.
- Invigorate the immunity with vitamins: Since a weakened immune system is the most likely reason for shingles, one may get faster relief if he/she strengthen his/her immune system with vitamins.
- Top anti-inflammatory foods: Wild fish and salmon, Berries, Paw paw, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, spinache, kale etc., red palm oil, kelp, EVOO oil, turmeric, ginger, garlic, green tea, sweet potato.
- Foods to avoid: Sugar, cooking oil, trans fats, dairy, red and processed meat, alcohol, refined grains and artificial food additives.
