Shingles Relief
Getting Shingles Relief Is Important
The usual reason behind seeking shingles relief is that it is a painful condition, often more painful than a person is willing to tolerate. Even if the pain seems bearable, and you know that in most cases it will eventually go away, getting shingles relief quickly is still very important.
Shingles isn't simply a skin disease or disorder, in fact, shingles can sometime affect internal organs as well, although this is not often the case. Shingles is a virus, and a virus is sometimes like the 500-pound gorilla, who settles in wherever it wants to. In the case of the shingles virus, the real danger is, while its presence may be evident in terms of a painful skin rash, it can also attack the nervous system, one possible result being a permanent condition of discomfort or pain.
The Chickenpox Virus - If you're unfamiliar with what shingles is, it's basically a rebirth of the chickenpox you may have had as a child. If you haven't had chickenpox, you won't get shingles. You need the chickenpox virus, varicella zoster, for that. You can't catch shingles from another patient, but that person could give you the virus, in which case you'd come down with the chickenpox. That in itself could be somewhat serious, as many children's diseases are when contracted as an adult. Once you get chickenpox however, you're susceptible to getting shingles at some later time.
If you come down with a case of shingles, the first thing you might do, even before calling the doctor, is to take pain relievers, extra strength Tylenol is often enough to carry you though the initial stages. Beefing up your immune system with vitamin supplements can help too, as a stronger immune system can lessen the severity of the symptoms, and hasten the healing process. By now however you should have seen your doctor to see what he or she recommends.
Chloroform, Don't Try This At Home - If blisters appear, and they are very likely to do so, it's best to try to ignore them, if you can. They'll eventually go away on their own, usually in about 2 weeks. If they are really painful or bothersome however, a calamine lotion will often provide soothing relief. What you want to happen is have the blisters dry up and scab over on their own, without being scratched, rubbed, or subjected to creams or lotions that might cause even greater irritation. A combination chloroform-aspirin mixture is said to work well, but ask your pharmacist to prepare one. You don't want to be experimenting with chloroform in your kitchen or bathroom!
A Nerve Block - Another method of getting shingles relief is to block the nerves which serve the area in which the pain is most severe. This can sometimes be done by an injection, depending of course on where the rash or blisters are located. This would be something worth discussing with your doctor, who may be able to give you a nerve block or refer you to a physician specializing in such matters.
Keeping Things Cool Helps - Regardless of what major steps you may be taking on your own, or may have prescribed by a physician, to gain some shingles relief one thing worth keeping in mind is that cold tends to offer relief and heat tends to act as an irritant. During your day to day activities you can often keep pain and discomfort to a minimum by using ice packs or even cold water rinses. If you use a washcloth, just make certain that no one else uses it or even handles it, as when the rash and blisters are present, the disease is highly contagious. You don't want to be guilty of spreading chickenpox, and possibly later on, shingles, to those fortunate ones who have never had either.