Shingles - Symptoms, Treatment, Homeopathic Remedies
Using Homeopathy for Shingles
Shingles (also called herpes zoster) is a painful rash caused by an organism in the herpes virus family - varicella zoster, the same virus that causes chicken pox. Shingles, which unlike chicken pox is not contagious, can result in burning or shooting pain, itching, or tingling. The rash, which usually occurs on one side of the face or body, is generally a band of raised blistering dots that appears several days after the onset of skin pain. These marks later resolve into a series of fluid-filled blisters that eventually dry out, crust over, and drop off.
The disease mechanism is that the virus remains in the body, dormant in nerve cells, after chickenpox clears up and later re-emerges as a shingles outbreak.
Approximately one million people in the U.S. suffer from shingles annually, and about 90% seek medical treatment for the condition. Roughly 1 in 10 people who have had chicken pox will develop shingles at some point in life.
Shingles is more common in people over 60, those with compromised or weakened immune systems (including people undergoing cancer chemotherapy or radiation treatment), those who are HIV positive, and people under stress.
Other possible symptoms are fever, chills, difficulty moving some facial muscles, drooping eyelid, swollen glands, joint pain, headaches, abdominal pain, or problems with the senses (sight, hearing, or taste).
Conventional Treatment Treats the Symptoms Not the Cause
Conventional treatment for shingles is similar to that for other herpes-virus infections, except with much higher dosages of the antivirals: acyclovir, famciclovir, and valacyclovir. In some cases, physicians prescribe powerful anti-inflammatory medicines called corticosteroids (which have serious side effects). In many instances, however, all that is prescribed or recommended is a painkiller.
The most serious, and common, possible complication of shingles is called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), where the shingles pain endures for months or even years after the blisters have been shed. About one third of shingles sufferers will experience PHN, for which there is no effective cure; treatment consists of administering powerful anti-pain medications (including opioids), antidepressants, and anticonvulsants. Those who have especially severe cases of shingles and those with highly compromised immune systems seem to be more susceptible to PHN.
In homeopathic terms, it is crucial to not simply suppress the symptoms of a shingles outbreak, as that is likely to drive the fundamental imbalance deeper into the body where it might express itself as a malady of a vital organ system. As with all homeopathic treatment, the whole person is addressed, in contrast to the allopathic approach in which the "intruder" disease is attacked.
Homeopathy Matches Your Individual Symptoms to a Homeopathic Remedy So You Feel Better Right Away
A skillful homeopath will prescribe a remedy designed to alleviate the shingles symptoms and address the underlying cause of the outbreak. Some of the considerations when selecting the appropriate remedy are exactly where on the body the shingles outbreak occurs, and whether it predominantly itches or burns. Among the more common homeopathic remedies are Arsenicum album, Causticum, Hepar sulph, Mezereum, Rhus toxicodendron, and Variolinum.