Shingles can be very painful and distracting, to say the least, for a person who experiences them.  As stated by wiki.answers.com, “Researchers calculated that shingles affects at least 1 in every 278 adults in the United States each year. Study data also showed that shingles is even more common among people ages 50 to 59, affecting about one in every 24 people each year.”

Shingles is part of the herpes family of viruses along with chicken pox.  Chicken pox is more commonly contracted in childhood, which can then lie dormant in the spine and come out later in life as shingles when the immune system is compromised.  “One out of every five people who has had chickenpox is likely to get shingles” states Phyllis A. Balch in Prescription for Nutritional Healing.  Shingles and herpes outbreaks can be intensified by the amino acid L-Arginine.  Foods that are known to have high levels of L-Arginine are anchovies, tuna, pine nuts, peanuts, chocolate and oats; these foods should be avoided during an outbreak. 

Aside from avoiding foods high in L-Arginine, if you are experiencing an outbreak, discontinue any supplements with L-Arginine and strongly up your intake of the amino acid L-Lysine.  L-Lysine is an essential amino acid, meaning you must obtain it through food or supplement because your body can not produce it.  L-Lysine has been reported to help shorten the duration of an outbreak and at times prevent it from happening in the first place.  Some people have taken up to 3,000 mg of L-Lysine during their outbreak while others have taken 1,000 mg a day to keep the outbreak from happening.  Vitamin C with bioflavoniods has also assisted in boosting a person’s immune system to help fight the virus.  Make sure to start slow and see which amount works best for you.  The important thing is the balancing act of making sure you have more lysine than arginine in your system.

For external help with shingles there are creams on the market that contain Lysine in their ingredients.  Aloe is wonderfully soothing, however Peppermint oil (dilute 50/50 with a carrier oil), Shingles Oil Blend, Shingles Relief Cream or a Lysine cream may do more for you in easing the pain. To speed healing and relieve pain, soak a cloth in St. John’s Wort tea, wrap around affected skin and secure (change cloth when needed).

If you have shingles be careful around people who have not been previously infected by chickenpox, particularly children as it can be passed on to them.

Hanna’s home remedy for shingles is to make a paste with Epsom salt and water applying it to the sores.  You can also use peppermint tea as a wash.  Lastly drink 1 ½ quarts of celery juice daily.  Products for shingles from Hanna’s Herb Shop would be Shingle Vibropathic™, 33-20 Vibropathic™, Oxo Vibropathic™,  Ranunculus bulb. Vibropathic™,  Chicken Pox vibropathic™, and HPX Formula™ while astragalus root can assist in boosting your immune system.