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.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Hot House Flower (Albuquerque) on 07/17/2016
★★★★★
I had shingles about a year ago after a long stressful year of overworking my body. At the time I did not know what was wrong with me. What I was experiencing was tingling and nerve pain in my left arm and I could not figure out what it was. I did not have health insurance at the time so I did not go to see a doctor. But judging from what others have said about the meds that doctors give for shingles it is probably a blessing that I did not go see a doctor. I never had an outbreak because once the tingling and nerve pain began I started putting a mixture of essential oil mixed with coconut oil on my left side of my body, many times a day to calm the nerves. I never broke with anything but I was left with nerve pain and a weakness in the left arm and left leg and also tingling. For the most part the shingles was under control, then about a year later, it began to come back. Then I had a pre-stroke and that really scared me because I was getting electrical shocks constantly. I still not knowing what I was suffering, I did a parasite cleanse which helped a lot and I continued to eat organic. I was no longer getting tingling or electrical shocks but I still had weakness and nerve pain in my left side. By chance, I bought some Frankincense resin and began to make lotions using coconut oil and Frankincense resin. I began putting this on my left side of my body especially on my glands and nerve paths. Slowly over a 5 month period the pain and weakness began to leave my body. I feel mostly recovered.
Antifungal Cream for Ringworm
Posted by Lou (Tyler, Tx) on 01/02/2016
★★★★★
After reading your post, I searched for some antifungal cream and didn't have anything but Lamisil on hand. My husband didn't want to try that and then I remembered I bought some soap at Amazon for ringworm. I had about 6 bars of that. He tried it and the pain was gone immediately. He is going to wash with it once an hour to try to kill this. This has been going on for 3 months and we had done the ACV compresses and beverages. We also had the antiviral drugs and steroids. Thanks for your tip! I hope it helps him get over this.
Antifungal Cream for Ringworm
Posted by Jody (Idaho, US) on 10/13/2014
★★★★★
I have also used an antifungal cream on my shingles and it seems to accelerated the shingles to blister then completely go away with no scarring in only a few days.
I had thought that I had ringworm on my hip and used the antifungal cream which cleared it up, but 6 months later it came back and my Dr said it was shingles. So I used the antifungal cream the second time and again within a few hours the itching was gone and healed within a few days. I don't know why it worked but I thank goodness it did. I can't imagine having to deal with the pain for weeks!
Licorice Extract
Posted by Mr. Ree (Usa) on 08/15/2013
★★★★★
I used licorice extract on Shingles lesions and they were gone in 3 days... It came back twice and I put it on the same day and in an hour it was gone... $8.95 a bottle... Dr's told me there was nothing they could do about it but give me percoset... And they said it might last as long as a couple of years... Bright people!
Strengthen Gut Microbiome
Posted by Ann (Deer Park, Wa) on 08/25/2009
★★★★★
After suffering reoccurrence of shingles for about 20 months, I found out that it is a sign that there is a serious underlying medical problem. I worked on healing my digestive problems and as soon as the digestive system started working properly, the shingles quit reoccurring. If you keep getting shingles, look for another medical problem
Eucalyptus Oil
Posted by Pmstar (San Diego, CA) on 06/29/2009
★★★★★
Australian Euculyptus Oil and Aloe Vera gel for Shingles
I've struggled with painful shingles for years now and used Calamine Lotion, Betadine, Alchol (ouch ) and everything imagineable. I discovered Aloe Vera gel to soothe and it works great but it only helps the pain and does nothing to cure. I often use pure ___ Eucylyptus Oil (___) for aches and pains. It works wonders by the way, just rub it in and joint and muscle pain is gone. Anyway I had a backache so hubby rubbed some on my back and I begged him please, please dont get it on the Shingles thinking it would hurt. Well, as he got in the areas near them and not even touching I could feel the pain go away. Could it be ? So I very carefully put it on a tiny spot. NO PAIN. AND I SWEAR IT ERASED THEM. We tried just one area the first night and really massaged it in because it didnt hurt at all to touch them once the AEO was on there. They simply disappeared in that spot. I couldn't wait to put it everywhere the next day. All thats left is a couple very small stubborn spots but with the oil they dont hurt at all ! It does smell strong - like Vicks so during the day I use the Aloe Vera gel to soothe any new breakouts but as soon as I get home from work I rub the ____ on it and massage it in and you can watch them disappear. It's amazing ! I hope there's no side effects. Been doing it for a week now. I'll post if there is any downside.
Aloe Vera
Posted by Mafri (Zurich, Switzerland) on 10/04/2007
★★★★★
Another wonder of the world to be added-YOUR SITE! For 20 years my Fiance has been suffering with horrific Shingles, he has been to every skin Specialist there is, tried every cream, every oil and every natural product on the market. His feet are so bad, and so painful, causing more pain with certain foods- We have noticed that the worst are garlic, onions and spicy foods. 3 days ago, I was looking on the internet for a certain cream, very expensive especially after you have bought and tried almost everything. I came to your site and read all the posts, while doing so I looked what ingredients I had in the house, Aloe vera Gel - YES! Cayenne pepper- YES! Corn flour -YES! I went to the kitchen mixed it all up in bowl , got my fiance's feet and pasted it with the above, Now what? How does he go to sleep with all this on his feet? I took plastic wrap and wrapped his feet up, looking like a Astronaut he went to sleep with the paste and plastic.......... In the morning............. there was such a huge difference,are those really his feet. WOW! We are now on the 3rd day of nightly pasting and wrapping, the blisters are gone, the hard scaling skin is almost away, the only thing left is the redness. This is amazing!!! My only concern is with the plastic wrapping----- the feet don't get fresh air during this time, Thank you so much, I will keep you posted of the complete results in the future.
How To Avoid Shingles
Posted by Mama to Many (TN) on 03/07/2024
Hi Marsh,
I had chicken pox as a child and have been exposed to it several times when my kids and grandkids have had it. I have not had a shingles shot. I have had shingles twice, both unrelated to when I was around those with chicken pox or shingles. The one connection I made to the shingles flares was stress.
Whether stress was what made me vulnerable or a reduced immune response due to stress made me vulnerable, I know not.
But if I was concerned about getting shingles I would do all I could to reduce stress.
- Try to get adequate and good sleep. Melatonin at bedtime may help, and as it has anti-viral properties, it may be preventative to shingles. I take 20mg every night.
- Take Vitamin C - 1000 mg 3-5 times a day (through out the day), unless your bowel cannot tolerate it.
- Vitamin D and Zinc both support immunity.
- Use unprocessed coconut oil in cooking as it is an anti-viral.
- Get a bit of exercise daily if you can. I have been doing indoor walking videos lately - a fun way to get in some cardio.
I hope you are spared! If not though, I did find that a salve with Eucalyptus topically and vitamin C internally helped me a lot when I had shingles.
~Mama to Many~
Coconut Oil, Frankincense Essential Oil
Posted by Pam B. (Mobile, Alabama ) on 11/24/2020
★★★★★
I've had Shingles a few times. The experts will tell you they last 2-4 weeks. I had an area on my chest. Twice a day I applied coconut oil and a few drops of Sacred Frankincense Essential Oil. It worked for me. The Shingles were gone in 10 days.
Antifungal Cream for Ringworm
Posted by JoS (Florida) on 12/29/2019
★★★★★
The anti-fungal cream took away shingles pain on my back. Applied it twice a day.
Mama's Shingles Remedies
Posted by Mama to Many (TN) on 11/18/2019
★★★★★
It took me a week to realize I was dealing with shingles. I had a belt of pain around my lower ribcage on just one side. The pain was so intense I would become short of breath. Once I realized it was not injury or a lung issue, I began treating it as a virus. I was also experiencing itchy skin that felt burned, which was the clue to shingles.
1,ooo mg of lysine each day
2 t. coconut oil a few times a day
vitamin c
1 -2 dropperfuls of cayenne pepper tincture in juice 4 x a day
and...baking soda baths!
They helped more than Tylenol. 1-2 cups each, Epsom salt and baking soda. I recall that those baths helped my children when they had chicken pox. Sometimes I would use pain patches from the dollar store. They have a lot of menthol in them, and capsicum. Salonpas patches were hard to remove and irritated my skin - the generic pain patches never bothered me!
I hope you never get shingles, but if you do, I hope these remedies are helpful for you! ~Mama to Many~
Colostrum, Lysine
Posted by Para (Tennessee) on 01/08/2019
★★★★★
Because of another underlying disease, I have Shingles every day of my life for 5 years.. The way I keep it from flaring up and causing me pain in my head is Colostrum LD Powder. I worked up gradually to 2 or 3 Tablespoons a day. This will take the pain away within an hour or two after taking it. I also take 500 to 1000 mg Lysine daily. Prevention for me is taking the Colostrum and Lysine without fail daily. If I have made mistakes (forgetting to take the above or eating arginine foods) and ended up with a severe bout of Shingles, I add in Manuka Honey from New Zealand 15+ officially graded it seems to give an extra punch when coupled with the other things.. How I get severe bouts - eating anything chocolate, eating Vanilla Bean not Vanilla flavored but the bean itself .. got to stay away from Arginine foods very important because if the Arginine fills up the pathways and is overpowering the Lysine in the pathways, you will get an outbreak of Shingles.
ACV, Aloe, Tea Tree and Coconut Oil
Posted by Allison S. (Thomas, Oklahoma) on 03/17/2018
★★★★★
Shingles helped with ACV, Aloe Vera and Tea Tree Oil
This is for Shingles for a help to heal: First padded down area with Apple Cider vinegar with a round flat cotton pad. then I put this mixture on top:
I took a jar with a lid and added 1 cup of Aloe Vera pure 100% liquid. then added several drops of Tea Tree Oil, Melaluka is so wonderful for healing. Finally added 1 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil. Stirred with each use. Applied with round cotton pads. Please just play with the amounts to suit you.
My Shingles were so horrible that I would only get an hour to 2 hours of sleep at night. So weak and tired. This mixture really helped stop the itching pain and I finally got some sleep!
Acupuncture
Posted by Susan (California) on 07/01/2017
★★★★★
Thank you Chrissy (August 2011 post)! I awoke to what I believe was the onset of shingles with intense pain on my big toe, across my foot and up my leg. I immediately, after reading your story, contacted my acupuncturist/herbalist. She surrounded the area of my pain with needles plus a couple on my hand and then muscle tested me to find that echinacea and St. John's Wort would be good for me, including topical echinacea. It's the next morning now and the pain is 99% gone and I'm hoping that's the end of it.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Kathy W (Waddington, Ny) on 08/23/2016
★★★★★
I discovered 3 drops of Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide purchased at the health food store in 8 oz of water actually kills the nerve pain associated with shingles!
Licorice Extract
Posted by Daffodil (British Columbia, Canada) on 07/18/2016
★★★★★
After my husband passed away I got shingles 2 years in a row. I bought a bottle of Licorice Root Extract from the local drugstore. It had a dropper in it and I just dropped some liquid on my fingers and applied it to the shingles sores. This took the pain away and I was immediately able to go back to sleep at night, or be painfree during the day. The shingles seemed to stop spreading at that point and eventually cleared up, although I had raised bumps (nerve endings I think) that still show up occasionally 5 years later.
I also supplemented (to boost my immune system) with Vitamin C (Camu is readily available to the body) 500 mg 3x/day, L Lysine - 500 mg 2x/day and Folic Acid - 1 microgram/day. This is inexpensive and worked for me.
Essential Oils
Posted by Mrsg (Fl ) on 06/29/2016
★★★★★
I am 50 years young and I just had my first experience with shingles. The symptoms started very low key about a week before with loss of appetite, a little nauseous, feeling tired. Then started with a very painful right shoulder pain that made it almost impossible to sleep. Two days later, I felt like I had severe flu symptoms, chest pains, headache, my skin feeling sensitive to touch especially on my right arm. The same morning I also noticed some bumps along my right arm like ant bites. The next day the bumps turned red and the rash was spreading. I still did not think it was shingles because I've never had the chicken pox. By the next day the rash was still spreading, still had pain on my right shoulder and headaches. I was feeling miserable.. Finally went to the Urgent Care (Sunday) to be diagnosed with shingles. Was given three prescriptions including Valtrex and sent home.
I've been reading horror stories about the pain so I called my PCP and got my pain meds ready. After reading the posts here, I wrapped my arm with a small towel and sprayed Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) and kept it moist.
At night I mixed coconut oil and tea tree oil and spread it on my arm. To go to work, I put a layer of the coconut-tea tree oil mixture, wrap a soft gauze, then an ace bandage. I also drank water with ACV.
Within four days after the initial rash appeared, my skin was already healing with scabs. No broken skin. Hardly any pain. I still took the prescription Meds, but I truly think the ACV and coconut-tea tree oil mix helped in my recovery time.
Red Marine Algae
Posted by Prioris (Fl) on 03/05/2015
★★★★★
The above post is not very clear. It may cause people to buy the wrong product and think it didn't work.
There are thousands of varieties of Red Marine Algae but only ONE variety works against the shingles virus (herpes zoster). Many bottles say Red Marine Algae but they contain different varieties depending that work against different herpes.
Shingles and other herpes outbreaks can be controlled by the use of red marine algae. The main caution about using any commercial product by that name is to be sure that the appropriate species of red marine algae is in the supplement. The name to look for based on scientific research is Gigartina skottsbergii.
