SHINGLES (HERPES ZOSTER)

SHINGLES (HERPES ZOSTER) TREATMENT & CARE

There is sharp burning pain around your body followed by a rash of painful red blisters which later crust over. You are surprised and dismayed, you know you had chickenpox when you were little and you thought that protected you from shingles.

Like chickenpox, shingles will usually run its course within a week or two. But unlike chickenpox, shingles may leave painful reminders. As many as half of those over age 60 develop post- herpetic neuralgia. This pain may persist for months or years.

Individuals with shingles are far less contagious than people with chickenpox. This virus is only spread by direct contact with the vesicles. If the vesicles are kept covered they should not be infectious at all. However, for those few individuals who have not had chickenpox, they can catch it from someone with shingles.

• Pain relief comes first. An aspirin substitute may be better for some, aspirin for others.
• Step up your immune system and repair your nerves. Take 200 mg of vitamin C five or six time daily and one vitamin B – complex for nerve repair.
• Leave the blisters alone. Too much rubbing in this area can irritate the skin, making and the pain worse.
• Apply a wet dressing made from a damp cloth dipped in ice – water to the affected area.
• Wear loose, cotton clothing. Anything else will make the blistered area feel hotter.
• Apply calamine lotion or baking soda to the blisters.
• Take a corn flour bath just bedtime.
• Continue to use ice after the blisters are gone: now put it directly on the area and stroke the skin quickly. This will confuse the nerve signals that send pain.
• Avoid drafts, as they send signals to the nerve ending that will active pain.
• Allow sunlight on the affected areas for the short intervals to speed healing.
• L- Lysine, an amino acid available in tablet form, has been shown to aid healing.
• For those in whom the nerve pain lasts long after the illness, therapeutic psychological counseling may help.