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Exploring Natural Remedies and Supportive Care for Shingles

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Vitamin C
Posted by Alexander (Louisiana) on 12/22/2017
 ★★★★★

Editor's Choice

My shingles outbreaks were continously, in the same place. As soon as one outbreak would heal, another would break out.

Then I started taking Vitamin C to bowel tolerance daily and have never had another shingles outbreak in years. Not to mention my overall health has also improved.

Vitamin C
Posted by Alexander (Louisiana) on 12/22/2017
 ★★★★★

I know I am responding to a very old post, but I had to add what helped me and my shingles problem. My shingles outbreaks were continously, in the same place. As soon as one outbreak would heal, another would break out. Then I started taking Vitamin C to bowel tolerance and have never had another shingles outbreak in years. Not to mention my overall health has also improved. It's worth a try.

Vitamin C
Posted by Garry (Mtn Home, Ar) on 08/15/2017
 ★★★★★

I can attest to the use of vitamin C for shingles. I had shingles in my 20s and was told I needed vit C IV for 4 days running. The first shot, all pain gone, 2nd shot blisters all but gone, no pain, 3rd-4th shot-all signs gone, no nerve pain, not even any redness. 15 years later diagnosed with herpes. Contracted it when I was 18. It was evident at infection site(lesion) and also throughout my nervous system. Used Acyclovir, had to quit because of side effects...besides the fact it really did not help much, shortening episodes by maybe 1 week(3 week episodes).

My symptoms, other than the occasional lesion, was nerve pain at areas of previous wounds and extreme skin sensitivity. Several years ago I came across an article about vitamin c mega dosing. I remembered my treatment for shingles, so thought what the heck. When I had my next episode, which included a lesion on my right ear lobe, I took 1,000mg caps every hour I was awake for two days(15,000mg/day), then when my bowels started to get 'loose', I dropped to 1 every other hour. The results were nothing less than spectacular for me.

After the first day, no more pain, itching or fever. After the 2nd day I experienced something I had never seen...the lesion actually started to recede, no blisters popped and still no pain. After 5 days, I couldn't even tell it ever occurred. I now take 1,000mg/day and have never had a occurrence. I used to be able to rub my ear lobe and create a 'fever' at any time, this is gone as well. By the way, weather patterns exacerbated my episodes and actually instigated them. My doctor said he never heard of such a thing, but I could tell friends and family when there was a weather change coming...I usually got a very painful 48 hour warning. These too are gone...the only 'down' side. It's probably also useful to note that I've never had a cold or flu since either. I see now that the FDA has decided IV vitamin C usage is no longer a recommended treatment. Probably because it's cheap and effective. I use Ester C if anyone is interested (horse pills! ).

Vitamin C
Posted by Jennifer (Raleigh, Nc) on 06/25/2012
 ★★★★★

I went to the doctor with a fist sized rash, and was told shingles... The whole mess started with deep muscle itching in my leg for a week, then I thought I scratched the skin and had an infection/rash. There were also two bumps on the sole of my heel that made it painful to walk-- the doctor listened to my description of events and except for the heel thing, diagnosed shingles right away. She thought maybe the heel break out was because the nerves in the heel are connected down the leg. She prescribed Valtrex, I refused steroids. I wasn't really in any pain. I filled the scrip and then went home and googled it.

Everything I looked at and read said I was in for 6 weeks or longer of intense pain, seeping sores and so on... Yikes, I could not take even a week off work!

I read about Vitamin C and started taking 1000mg at different intervals from the Valtrex, 3X a day for Valtrex and 4X a day for the Vitamin C. I applied Caladryl (calamine lotion with itch reliever) to my rash as needed, about 3 times a day. I was back at work after three days.

I never got open sores from the rash, just bumps. I did get more rash and bumps, some would go away and others came, up and down my upper thigh (and butt), but I did not experience weeping sores or have intense pain, and was walking fairly normally after three days. The bumps on my heel stayed dark, but hurt less to walk on.

I think it was the vitamin C, but I did not stop taking the Valtrex. I didn't seem to take enough Vitamin C to cause diarrhea, just loose stool one day. Another thing with the C, it seemed to calm me down a little bit. I work on my feet 12 hours a day 5 or 6 days a week as a restaurant manager, and have never been good at sitting still, but the C, I think, might have calmed me a bit.


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