Shingles is an excruciating disease that typically affects older people. Shingles is caused by the reactivation of varicella zoster, the same virus responsible for chicken pox. When a person gets chicken pox, not all the virus goes away and hides in your nerves around the spinal column. When the person becomes old, the virus awakens and causes a painful rash on a person’s skin. Usually, a health worker will prescribe drugs to remedy shingles. These drugs, however, may trigger side effects such as constipation, irregular heartbeat, dry mouth and dizziness. Fortunately, there are natural ways to remedy shingles and prevent unpleasant side effects.
Here are some natural treatments that can help remedy shingles. Some of these treatments to remedy shingles require application to the skin in order to relieve painful blisters. There are also treatments that need ingestion of some herbs or natural treatment for shingles.
Natural Topical Treatments
- Lotions to relieve pain include calamine lotion, which can be applied frequently on the skin without adverse side effects.
- Using cold compress is also helpful in relieving pain.
- Tea tree oil and French clay. Combine French clay with water enough to make a paste. Then, add 1-2 drops of tea tree oil. Apply the paste to the affected areas and wrap with gauze. Then, leave on the skin for a few hours. Then, clean the affected area using a warm cloth. This method can be used to remedy shingles and must be done 2 to 3 times a day.
- Lukewarm or cool bath. You can also add oatmeal to your bath water for more relief.
- There are some people who use activated charcoal to remedy shingles. Combine activated charcoal, water and flaxseed to create a paste. Leave the mixture for 20 minutes and apply to the affected areas. The treatment can be wrapped and left on the skin for 12 hours. At the end of the period, wipe the treatment off the skin using warm washcloth.
- Hydrogen peroxide is also used to remedy shingles by applying periodically to the blisters. This can help dry the blisters fast.
- Mix Vaseline Intensive Care and 2 mashed aspirins and then apply to the skin. This mixture can also help relieve pain.
- Capsaicin can also be used as topical treatment to remedy shingles. This treatment works by numbing nerve endings and is therefore effective in decreasing pain.
If you try out these useful topical treatments, you should begin to notice an immediate relief of shingles within days.