Aloe Vera for Shingles

[Cypress]

I am seeing ads about shingles fairly often on TV. I understand it can show up anywhere in the body. But if it is on the skin, could it be treated with aloe vera? This is my cure for rash, burns, blisters, cold sores, etc. The leaf sap is the best quickest way to treat and clear on the skin. I wonder if this great old treatment would help.

[Suzanne]

I very recently had shingles - a relatively mild case, but it crossed the midline and spread up onto my shoulder blades on my back. The shocking pain is caused by the virus inside the nerves that lead to the surface of the skin. I didn't try aloe vera; I as prescribed a colloidal silver salve for the vesicles. It feels like a nest of electric eels savagely biting from the inside. It's not really a rash. The vesicles are caused by the severe inflammation of the nerves - I think the silver helps to kill the virus. I was miserable for about 2 weeks, and now have greyish-brown scars wherever there were blisters. I'd go for prevention - get vaccinated.

[rosarugosa]

Suzanne: That sounds awful. My MD said I should get vaccinated when I reach 60 (I think that is when insurance covers it). Do you think it's unwise to wait? That's about 3 years away for me. I had awful chicken pox when I was a kid, which I think makes me more susceptible (although I'm not certain about that).

[Suzanne]

If you had chicken pox, you are indeed at risk of shingles. I'd find out the cost of the vaccination. That said, shingles risk is definitely raised by stress and by lack of some nutrients. Mine was probably brought on by two deaths of family members, both traumatic, in rapid succession, and the diagnosis of a third (who has since died) with terminal pancreatic cancer. I'm also in school, in a Master's progamme. Do everything you can to keep your immune system fully charged.

I was really shocked by the pain! I thought of shingles as second-class chicken pox, and I'd had a nasty dose of chicken pox as a child. This was much worse. Probably the worse the childhood infection, the higher the risk, because I think that there'd be more virus particles hiding out in nerves in you had a bad initial chickenpox.

My shingles attack was really mild compared to some people's experience. If that's mild, I'd really hate to experience wild!

[Songbird]

Shingles can do some permanent damage too. A friend of mine had it last winter and is still suffering...it impaired her vision and left her with brain damage. She can no longer do her job and is on disability now. She's also still in a lot of pain and her meds barely take the edge off of it. Her doctor and many specialists that she's seen are unsure of her prognosis. She really is not the same person and I feel so sad for her...

After witnessing my friend's bad experience I recently had the shingles vaccine. My insurance wouldn't cover it because I was under 60, so I paid the full price of $250 thinking it would be well worth it in the long run...

[lessisbest]

Several years ago three people (all elderly - late 70's, early 80's) across the street had shingles all at the same time. One had a "mild" case and made a good recovery, the next neighbor to them still has issues and limps because of shingles and was hospitalized twice, and the neighbor two doors down nearly lost his eyesight. The odd thing, these neighbors don't socialize....

[rosarugosa]

Thanks for the input. It's only $197.50 at Costco.

[ApatheticNoMore]

What if you never had chicken pox? (nor am I vaccinated against chicken pox) Should you still get a shingles vaccine?

[Suzanne]

My understanding is that if you come into contact with somebody who has shingles, you can get chickenpox, which then puts you at risk for shingles. You can be infected with chickenpox by somebody who has chickenpox, which puts you at risk for shingles. It would seem to be better to be vaccinated for chickenpox at this stage, but I'd definitely check with my doctor!

[Gardenarian]

Can you get the vaccine after you've had shingles?

Like others, I had a mild case but am left with a large numb area of skin on my leg.
I did use aloe when it was most severe and that did help me feel a bit more comfortable. The feeling of fabric rubbing on the shingles was sickening.
I also found diaper rash cream (zinc oxide) to be helpful.

[Suzanne]

Shingles can erupt more than once - http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/news/20091102/shingles-recurs-more-often-than-thought.

I'll ask my doctor about vaccination post-shingles. Certainly I'll do everything in my power to avert a recurrence!

[Cypress]

Thanks for the responses. I asked my DR at my last physical about having a shingles vaccination. I understand the vaccination has a high rate of prevention, something like 75% ? People suffer and suffer for months with this awful virus. I cannot recall if I had chicken pox. Is there a blood titer that can be done to check immunity status? I am 54 years old and strongly considering the vaccination out of pocket.

[jp1]

Yes, I believe they can do a titer to check for the vacerella virus.

[Gardenarian]

Yes, doing a little research - it says the vaccine can prevent a recurrence.
Something I'm going to consider.
First I'll have to find out how many people do have a recurrence.

[Cypress]

In 1994 a coworker of mine came down with shingles. She must have been in her later 50s. Apparently, when she felt symptomatic, she went right away to the DR. But the DR didn't know what it was. If the diagnosis is made soon enough, there is some treatment that can mitigate the adversity of the illness. But, it's a time sensitive.

The way she talked about the pain and suffering, it was hard to understand as it was inside her scalp? I remember being educated about shingles because of her talking about it every day. I wonder how common it is?

[Tammy]

I had chickenpox as a kid.

Then at age 17 I got shingles. It was in the upper third of my head on the left side. It generally follows dermatomes, which is why it's usually on one side of the body and in a pattern that follows the nerves pathways.

My doc said I was lucky that it wasn't in the middle area of my head as I could have lost vision in my left eye.

I didn't miss any school, which is remarkable to me now. This was prior to chicken pox vaccines so I guess they figured I would simply spread chicken pox to any peers who hadn't had it yet as a kid. This was the 70s when parents purposefully exposed their kids to chicken pox so they wouldn't get it later as adults when it could be worse.

I had a lot of pain and itching all over my scalp and forehead in that dermatome. I still have faint scars on my forehead from the blisters.

One doc told me 5 years ago to get the shingles vaccine. He didn't have any in stock as there was a shortage. Then insurance changed and I had to get s new doc. Her opinion was to wait until I'm 60. So I haven't got it yet.

My childhood doc told me it was probably a result of stress. That semester in school was tough. Lots of college prep classes, lots of involvement with church and school extracurriculars, and then the final straw was getting in over my head as stage manager for our school play. I had no idea that it would require 3-4 hours after school, 5 days a week for 6 weeks.

That was the first time I learned to say no. I cut way back on extra stuff and have been on a campaign to maintain a simple life ever since.

[Suzanne]

I looked it up: 1 in every 3 people has a recurrence of shingles, and some have multiple recurrences.

[frugal-one]

I researched this earlier and found that the vaccine is only 50% effective.

[Suzanne]

Cutting my risk by half seems good to me! Apparently the vaccine reduces the risk of post-hermetic pain by 67%, and that looks really good! The pain is awful and unrelenting, going from bad to worse unpredictably.