What Is The Best Remedy For Shingles

Can Shingles Be Prevented Or Avoided

The best way to prevent shingles is through vaccination. Vaccinate your children for chickenpox. This vaccine reduces their risk for getting chickenpox. You cant get shingles unless youve had chickenpox first.

When you are older, get the shingles vaccine. It is recommended for adults 50 years of age and older. It can prevent shingles. People who have had shingles should get the vaccine to help stop the disease from reoccurring. Common side effects of the vaccine are headache, plus redness, swelling, itching, and soreness at the injection site.

The shingles vaccine is not recommended for anyone who:

• Has had an allergic reaction to gelatin or the antibiotic neomycin
• Has an allergy to any component of the shingles vaccine
• Has a weakened immune system due to conditions such as leukemia, HIV, or AIDS
• Is receiving treatment for cancer
• Is being treated with drugs that suppress their immune system, including high-dose steroids
• Is pregnant or might become pregnant within 4 weeks of getting the vaccine

Are There Natural Ways To Boost The Immune System To Help Lessen The Chances Of Developing Shingles

Stress is a risk factor for developing shingles. So limiting your stress can be helpful. Try meditation, yoga or other relaxation methods. Eat healthy, maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly, get seven to nine hours of sleep each night, dont smoke these are all good living tips, not just for reducing your chance of getting shingles, but also many other diseases and health conditions too.

What Is The Prognosis For Shingles What Are Possible Shingles Complications

Many cases of shingles go away by themselves, with or without treatment. The rash and pain should be gone in two to three weeks. However, shingles may last longer and be more likely to recur if the person is older, especially older than 50 years of age, or if they have a serious medical problem.

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Key Points About Shingles

• Shingles is a common viral infection of the nerves. It causes a painful rash or small blisters on an area of skin.
• Shingles is caused when the chickenpox virus is reactivated.
• It is more common in people with weakened immune systems, and in people over the age of 50.
• Shingles starts with skin sensitivity, tingling, itching, and/or pain followed by rash that looks like small, red spots that turn into blisters.
• The rash is typically affects just one area on one side of the body or face.
• Treatment that is started as soon as possible helps reduce the severity of the disease.

Preventing Shingles In The Eye

When it comes to shingles and especially ocular shingles prevention is the best medicine.

Fortunately, there are two shingles vaccines:

• Shingrix A fairly new vaccine, Shingrix is recommended for adults ages 50 and over. You get Shingrix in two doses two to six months apart, and its more than 90% effective in protecting you from shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia. Protection stays strong for at least four years after you get vaccinated.

• Zostavax An older vaccine for shingles, Zostavax is a live vaccine that is less effective but may be used in healthy adults ages 60 and up if theres a reason they cant have Shingrix administered. For example, someone who is allergic to a component of Shingrix may opt for Zostavax.

The availability of a newer, more effective vaccine should prevent even more shingles outbreaks. We recommend the vaccine for all of our patients, Dr. Rapuano says.

WORRIED YOU MIGHT HAVE EYE SHINGLES ?Find an optician near you and schedule an appointment.

Page published in May 2020

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Also Check: What Should I Do If I Think I Have Shingles

How Do Dermatologists Treat Shingles

An antiviral medication can:

• Reduce the amount of time that you have a shingles rash

• Lower your risk of developing long-lasting nerve pain and other health problems

One of three antiviral medications is usually prescribedacyclovir, famciclovir, or valacyclovir.

To treat your symptoms, dermatologists typically recommend the following:

Pain: Medication that you can buy without a prescription can help, such as:

If you have severe pain, your dermatologist may prescribe a medication that reduces inflammation, such as a corticosteroid.

How Is Shingles Treated

There is no cure for shingles, but antiviral medicine may relieve the symptoms and help prevent complications. See your doctor for a prescription of antiviral medicines as soon as possible after symptoms develop. Treatment should be started within 3 days of the shingles rash appearing.

If you are pregnant, talk to your doctor about whether antivirals are right for you.

Over-the counter medicines, such as paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, can be used for pain relief. If over-the-counter medicines are not controlling your pain, your doctor may prescribe other medicines.

There are several things you can do to help manage the condition. They include the following.

Read Also: Is Calamine Lotion Good For Shingles

Which Antiviral Medication Is Best For Shingles

The antiviral medications used to treat shingles are , , and . They are all effective at helping shingles rashes crust over and heal, and they help reduce pain as you are healing.

In head-to-head studies, a 7-day course of valacyclovir worked faster than a 7-day course of acyclovir at reducing pain. Famciclovir is equivalent to valacyclovir for healing shingles rashes and reducing pain from them. Acyclovir needs to be taken 5 times a day, while Famciclovir and valacyclovir both need to be taken 3 times a day.

Its worth noting that these antiviral medications dont prevent postherpetic neuralgia, which can happen to some people with shingles. And antiviral ointments like Zovirax will do nothing for the rash from shingles.

Preventing The Virus Spreading

If you have the shingles rash, do not share towels or flannels, go swimming, or play contact sports. This will help prevent the virus being passed on to someone who has not had chickenpox.

You should also avoid work or school if your rash is weeping and cannot be covered.

Chickenpox can be particularly dangerous for certain groups of people. If you have shingles, avoid:

• women who are pregnant and have not had chickenpox before as they could catch it from you, which may harm their unborn baby
• people who have a weak immune system, such as someone with HIV or AIDS
• babies less than one month old, unless it is your own baby, in which case your baby should have antibodies to protect them from the virus

Once your blisters have dried and scabbed over, you are no longer contagious and will not need to avoid anyone.

Also Check: How Can You Test For Shingles

Best Natural Remedies For Shingles Everything I Used Myself Is Spelled Out Here

Thankfully my case was mild and fairly short too, only about 2-3 weeks from start to end. However I know that for some, it can be a long and very painful ordeal. Hopefully some of these suggestions help you!

• Take this remedy at the very first sign of shingles here are the symptoms to look for:
• The first symptom of shingles is usually pain on one side of the body. There may be itching, numbness, tingling, burning, a constant ache, or zingers as I called them a shooting nerve pain. This is really bad in some cases. I didn’t have the nerve pain at first, just an ache that felt better if I moved, which is why I knew to start with that remedy, but it turns out it was a good choice for shingles and Joette said she thinks that’s why I had such a mild case, because it’s what I took right away!
• Typically, 1-3 days after the pain starts, a rash with raised, red bumps and blisters shows up on the skin in a similar areas to where the pain was, often near the waistline. They can become pus-filled, just like with chicken pox, then form scabs in less than 2 weeks and disappears within another week or so. These could cause scarring, more on this below.
• Sometimes: Fever and chills, headache, upset stomach or abdominal pain.

Best Natural Remedies for Shingles more homeopathics that may help:

Urgent Advice: Get Advice From 111 As Soon As You Suspect Shingles

You might need medicine to help speed up your recovery and avoid longer-lasting problems.

This works best if taken within 3 days of your symptoms starting.

111 will tell you what to do. They can arrange a phone call from a nurse or doctor if you need one.

Go to 111.nhs.uk or .

Get an urgent GP appointment

A GP may be able to treat you.

Ask your GP surgery for an urgent appointment.

Also Check: Can Shingles Be Under The Skin

What Are The Complications Of Shingles

Symptoms of shingles usually dont last longer than 3 to 5 weeks. However, complications can happen. The main complications that can result from shingles include:

• Postherpetic neuralgia . The most common complication of shingles is called postherpetic neuralgia . This continuous, chronic pain lasts even after the skin lesions have healed. The pain may be severe in the area where the blisters were present. The affected skin may be very sensitive to heat and cold. If you had severe pain during the active rash or have impaired senses, you are at increased risk for PHN. The elderly are also at greater risk. Early treatment of shingles may prevent PHN. Pain relievers and steroid treatment may be used to treat the pain and inflammation. Other treatments include antiviral drugs, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and topical agents.
• Bacterial infection. A bacterial infection of the skin where the rash happens is another complication. Rarely, infections can lead to more problems, such as tissue death and scarring. When an infection happens near or on the eyes, a corneal infection can happen. This can lead to temporary or permanent blindness.

Articles On Shingles Treatment

• Treating Nerve Pain

The virus that causes chickenpox is also what causes shingles. Itâs called varicella zoster. It can lie quietly in your nerves for decades after causing chickenpox but suddenly wake up and become active.

The main symptom of shingles is a painful rash that comes up on one side of your body or face. See your doctor as soon as you can if you think you might have this condition.

Your doctor may want to put you on medications to control your infection and speed up healing, cut inflammation, and ease your pain. They include:

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Ranunculus Bulbosus: For Bluish Vesicles And Intense Itching

Ranunculus bulbosus for shingles is derived from the plant bulbous buttercup or St Anthonys Turnip. This is a perennially growing plant and belongs to the Buttercup family. Ranunculus bulbosus is prepared from the bulb of this plant. This plant is native of Western Europe and the northern Mediterranean coast. As an introduced weed it grows in eastern and western parts of North America.It is the principle medicine for treating Herpes zoster. It is indicated for herpetic eruptions with itching where the eruptions are vesicular and pustular. It is highly recommended for shingles with blue blisters that are filled with serum. There is an intense burning and itching that gets worse with contact.

Antidepressants May Offer Surprising Relief

Antidepressants may have been invented for depression, but they are also known to modulate peripheral nerves, Dr. Auwaerter says, thereby dulling PHN pain. Your physician may suggest Pamelor or Aventyl or Elavil . Dr. Auwaerter adds that these medications can sometimes cause side effects like fatigue and sluggishnessthough PHN patients usually only need a low dose, which is unlikely to cause major adverse effects.

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What Are Common Home Remedies For Shingles

Keeping the inflamed skin clean is essential, so wash the affected area with cool water and mild soap. Taking a bath or shower is fine. The blisters of shingles will crust over and fall off on their own, and it’s important to avoid picking at the blisters to prevent the development of a secondary skin infectionat the inflamed site. Cool compresses applied to the painful area after washing may be helpful. In the first few days of an attack, you can apply ice packs for 10 minutes at a time several times throughout the day.

You can also use cornstarch or baking soda applied directly to the areas of blistering to keep them dry and promote faster healing. Another product that may help keep the blisters dry and prevent oozing is aluminum acetate solution , which is available at pharmacies. Keep the blisters exposed to air and uncovered by clothing as much as possible.

Anti-itching lotions such as Calamine lotion can be applied after washing or rinsing or after treatment with cool compresses.

While none of these home treatments will cure shingles or even decrease the length of the attack, many sufferers find that home care measures can make the painful condition more tolerable.

Natural Remedies To Relieve Shingles Pain Outbreaks

Shingles pain can be excruciating. Thankfully, most people who experience a shingles outbreak only do so one time. However, others have recurrences. There is no cure for shingles, but there are antiviral medications that can speed the healing process. Shingles vaccination also is available to adults aged 50 and older to help prevent initial outbreaks among those at the highest risk for them.

Modern medicine is not the only solution for treating shingles pain and preventing future outbreaks. Naturopaths and doctors agree that natural treatments for shingles can help with both discomfort and relapses. If youre among the people who prefer natural alternatives for treating common conditions, this article provides information on the most effective natural treatments for shingles.

What Causes Shingles?

Shingles is a viral infection caused by the varicella zoster virus . It is the same virus that causes chickenpox. Individuals who recover from chickenpox can have the virus lay dormant in their systems for years. Doctors dont know why, but roughly 1 out of every 3 people who had chickenpox later have the virus reactivate as shingles.

How Common is Shingles?

For 1 out of 10 people, nerve pain postherpetic neuralgia can last for months or even years after the initial outbreak. It is one of the most common shingles complications. Age increases the risk of developing postherpetic neuralgia.

Can You Get Shingles More Than Once?

Doctor Recommendations for Shingles

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Treating The Pain Of Phn

Exactly how best to deal with the pain is a difficult question. Rice led a research team that looked at 35 clinical trials of various treatments. The findings appear in the July issue of the free-access online journal PloS Medicine.

“The most important thing to realize is these are painkillers,” Rice says. “You are treating the pain, not the disease itself. And this is due to permanent nerve damage. It is like a stroke. We can’t make the nerve damage better, but we can treat the disability. And for PHN, pain is one of those disabilities.”

What helps? Rice’s team found good evidence supporting:

When Should I See My Doctor

See your doctor as soon as possible if you are experiencing any symptoms of shingles. Starting treatment with antiviral medicines within 3 days of the rash appearing should reduce the severity of symptoms and the risk of further complications, including post-herpetic neuralgia.

See your doctor straight away if you have symptoms of shingles and are experiencing the following:

• symptoms that affect your eye area
• a temperature of 38°C or higher

You should also see your doctor if you are pregnant, or have a weakened immune system due to medicine that suppresses the immune system, or a condition that weakens your immune system.

Read Also: Is The Shingles Vaccine Effective

Check If You Have Shingles

The first signs of shingles can be:

• a tingling or painful feeling in an area of skin
• a headache or feeling generally unwell

A rash will appear a few days later.

Usually you get the shingles rash on your chest and tummy, but it can appear anywhere on your body including on your face, eyes and genitals.

The rash appears as blotches on your skin, on 1 side of your body only. A rash on both the left and right of your body is unlikely to be shingles.

Precautions And Possible Complications

Shingles can be contagious to certain people. Someone with shingles can pass the virus on to anyone who is not already immune to chickenpox. Shingles can be passed to these people by direct contact with open shingles blisters. But the interesting thing here is that the person who comes in contact with the rash will not develop shingles, but will develop chicken pox.

Immediate medical attention is especially recommended if you have shingles, as well as any of the following:

• You are 70 years of age or older.
• Rash and pain near the eye because lack of treatment could lead to permanent damage to the eye.
• You have a weakened immune system due to chronic health issues or medication.
• The shingle rash is widespread and painful.

Post-herpetic neuralgia is the most prevalent complication of shingles. PHN is when someone with shingles experiences pain, which can be really severe, in the shingles rash areas after the rash is gone. PHN usually goes away in a few weeks or months, but some people can have it for years. The older the age of a shingles sufferer, the more likely the development and severity of PHN. In extremely rare cases, shingles can also lead to pneumonia, blindness hearing issues, brain inflammation or death.

Final Thoughts

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