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1. Shingles, and Postherpetic Neuralgia (nerve damage) and what can be done for relief

2. Diabetic Ulcers - An effective natural solution
3. Sinus & Lung Support
4. Will It Interfere with the Other Things I’m Taking?

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Shingles, and Postherpetic Neuralgia (nerve damage) and what can be done for relief

(Treatment for Neuropathy (nerve damage) caused by shingles)

What is Shingles?

The medical term for Shingles is acute herpes zoster. It is commonly called shingles and is an infection caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. Only people who have had chicken pox can get shingles.

The first time someone is exposed to the virus, it causes the widespread, itchy sores known as chickenpox. After a patient recovers from the chicken pox, the virus remains inactive in the body but the virus never goes away. Instead, it settles in nerve cells and may reactivate year's later, causing shingles.

People over the age of 50, or those with weakened immune systems are at the highest risk for developing shingles. Other factors that increase your risk include:

• Some cancer medicines
• Steroid medicines
• Long-term stress or trauma
• A weak immune system from illnesses

When the virus is reactivated it begins to multiply within the dorsal root ganglia (a part of the nervous system), which causes damage and swelling to this area of the nerve. This damage to the nerve causes the first pains of shingles. The virus then moves along the nerve to the skin, damaging the nerve and causing swelling as it goes. When the virus finally reaches the skin, it causes the shingles rash.

Shingles appears as a painful skin rash, typically on only one side of the body in a belt-like pattern. (Shingles comes from the Latin word for girdle or belt) The rash is usually on either the right or left side of the chest, starting in the middle of the back and wrapping around to the breast, but it can occur in any part of the body. The rash generally lasts from one to fourteen days.

Most of the time, shingles is very painful. Sometimes the pain from shingles starts before the rash appears. When the pain starts before the skin rash, it can be very hard to get a correct diagnosis. Many patients have been told they have heart attacks, appendicitis, migraine headaches, etc. before getting the correct diagnosis of shingles.

Fortunately, in most cases the pain of shingles gradually disappears over several weeks or months. Most people with shingles will have no pain or just a little pain one year after the rash.

Some patients with shingles develop neuralgia (a neuropathy) a condition in which the pain from shingles continues months or years after the rash has faded

What is Postherpetic Neuralgia?

If the pain from shingles does not go away, it is called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). It is also referred to as neuropathy. It is nerve damage.

A recent study showed that people with neuropathy - nerves of the body that are not working correctly - are more likely to develop PHN after shingles.

It is interesting that most people in this study who had a neuropathy before they got shingles did not know they had neuropathy -- they did not have any symptoms. Therefore, having neuropathy, even if it is not causing symptoms, may increase the chances of getting PHN.

Sometimes neuropathy is cumulative. There is some damage but the shingles creates more damage and the symptoms of neuropathy appear. (For other reasons a person gets neuropathy see Causes of Neuropathy)

Pain from Shingles and Postherpetic Neuralgia

Patients often describe the pain from shingles as a horrible, unbearable pain in the area of the rash. Each patient may experience different types and degrees of pain. The words used to describe the pain include sharp, electric-like jabs, burning, throbbing, aching, and skin sensitivity. It is a neuropathy - or nerve damage. There also may be intense itching in the painful area. The pain of the neuropathy may spread beyond the original shingles rash.

What can be done about postherpetic neuropathy?

It is known that Infections and autoimmune disorders can cause peripheral neuropathy and shingles is one of them. These viruses severely damage the sensory nerves.

What can be done for the nerve damage?

Treatment for Neuropathy

There are many medications, and other remedies that can bring you relief, you can read about them in this article Neuropathy treatments

What can you do?

Take a Quiz: Am I doing everything I can to daily help my neuropathy?

Find out what lifestyle changes will help, take the quiz and get our suggestions and get our assistance on what you can do.

Take Our Quiz

Lasting Relief:

None of the various neuropathy treatments will build healthy nerves. You can cover up the symptoms and you can increase circulation and you can make a person feel less pain, etc., but if you build healthy nerves, there will not be any symptoms (healthy nerves don't hurt, tingle, burn, are not numb, etc.) and the relief will be lasting.

Building Healthy Nerves *

Healthy sensory nerves mean that they are not painful. Healthy nerves means that they communicate and don't send wrong signals such as burning, hot and cold, tingling when there is no reason for it. Healthy motor nerves mean that they relay messages from the brain to the muscle so that they move correctly. Nerves need to be healthy to function properly.

The body needs specific nutrients (vitamins) to be able to build healthy nerves.

It may not give immediate relief (although many do feel changes in the first week) as the vitamins are working at a cellular level, but it does address the actual problem, builds healthy nerves and brings lasting relief.

(For temporary relief while building healthy nerves, go to Pain Relief Formula)

What can be done for lasting relief?
Find out how to Build Healthy Nerves

*Studies & Research on Nerve Health

Here is success from someone who used the RHP Nerve Support Formula:

"I was taking your vitamin because I had shingles on my face. Your vitamin helped in restoring my facial nerve feelings. Thank you !!!" - J.V.

Diabetic Ulcers - An effective natural solution

About 10 percent of diabetics have open sores that are very hard to heal, often lasting for years in that unhealed state, causing great discomfort and high risk of infection. Now a very simple and completely natural remedy can rapidly heal these wounds.

Studies conducted in 1991 by a medical research team compared a conventional method of burn treatment commonly used to treat burns, pressure ulcers and leg ulcers, with a topical application of honey* applied to the surface of the wound. Burn patients were divided into two groups.

The burns of patients in one group were cleaned with saline solution and pure, undiluted, unprocessed honey was applied daily. Burns of the other group were cleaned and covered with gauze that was soaked in a medicated dressing (5% silver sulfadiazine) that was changed daily.

Results showed that within seven days 91 percent of the infected wounds treated with honey were free of infection, compared to less than 7 percent of the burns treated with the medicated dressing. Within 15 days, 87 percent of the honey treated wounds were healed; whereas only 10 percent of the other group wounds were healed. Patients treated with honey experienced less irritation, more relief of pain, and no allergic reactions or side effects.

Studies done by an earlier medical research team in 1988 showed that various types of wounds and skin ulcers which had not previously responded to conventional methods of treatment such as antibiotics and medicated dressings responded favorably to a topical honey treatment.

Wounds and ulcer types treated with honey included: gangrene of the skin, burn wounds, topical ulcers, bedsores, and diabetic ulcers. After the wounds were cleaned with saline, honey and clean bandages were applied daily. Infected wounds that had not responded to conventional treatments were free of infection within 7 days of the first honey application.

Following treatment with honey, dead tissue was quickly replaced with healthy tissue. In some cases, diabetic ulcers were successfully treated with honey and skin grafts, thus preventing amputation. Apparently, the antibacterial properties of honey allow it to work on wounds and skin ulcers in the same manner it works on burns.

* The honey used must be raw unprocessed honey and it must state somewhere on the label that it is "unheated".

Sinus and Lung Support

There is a remedy to resist infection.

SINUS AND LUNG SUPPORT IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF…

You struggle with sinus and lung inflammation

You want a potent immune system support

You experience seasonal allergies

You need an easy way to support a healthy respiratory system

See more at Sinus & Lung Support Formula

Will It Interfere with the Other Things I’m Taking?

One of the most frequently asked questions about supplements is whether or not it will interfere with the medications that a person is currently taking.

Supplements usually mean that it will supplement your diet so that you have all of the body’s requirements to survive.  

There are forty nutrients that cannot be made in the body. They are essential fatty acids, 15 vitamins, 14 minerals, and 10 amino acids.  The body needs all of them.   If you are not getting them from the food you eat, you can supplement with these nutritional supplements.

This definition of supplement is really food and thus will usually not interfere with any drug.  

However, supplements come in all forms and all combinations.

You can find vitamins and herbs together. This may be because besides treating a deficiency there are things the body will need to get well.  This is usually considered a medical food.

Herbs unlike vitamins are not essential to the body and are used for their natural healing ability.  It is something that will force your body to do something it normally wouldn’t do, much like a drug does.

Of course, herbs are made in nature and not in a laboratory so not harmful.  But, can you take it with your medications?

There is an easy answer to this, and can be done no matter what supplement you want to take.

If you are unsure, see your pharmacist. Pharmacists have a database that is designed to do just that – check to see if different drugs can be taken together safely. This is necessitated by the fact that people can have more than one doctor, and more than one doctor prescribing them more than one drug.  Many people are on multiple medications.  

This database can also be used to check to see if any type of supplement, herb or drug can be taken together.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?   EMAIL AND GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

USE OUR SITE INDEX TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION

To Your Health

MCVitamins.com
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We want to make sure you get the results you are looking for.