Using Herbology to manage Herpes Vericella Zoster (Shingles)
By Steven R. Frank
Herpes Zoster (shingles) is a virus that affects nearly 800,000 people annually in the United States alone. It is believed to be a re-emergence of the varicella virus that causes Chicken Pox. An outbreak is characterized by patches of inflamed tissue and many open, itchy, painful sores. Once the sores are gone, usually after 8 to 10 weeks, nearly half of shingles sufferers experience the lingering discomfort of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). The pain and nerve inflammation of post-herpetic neuralgia can last from months to years. Shingles usually occur after a period of stress and most often, though not exclusively, in those over 50 years of age. Cancer treatments such as chemo therapy or X-ray therapy are very beleaguering to the body and have a tendency to instigate an outbreak of Shingles. This is particularly troubling as it occurs at a period of time when your body is already fighting disease and is least able to resist.
The vericella zoster virus lies dormant in the nerve cells and migrates out to the skin in order to replicate. The virus embeds its DNA into the DNA of the skin cell and then, when the skin cell replicates, a copy of the virus is made as well. Most people only suffer from a single outbreak, although it is possible to have multiple recurrences. The skin damage is a result of the bodies T-cells marking the skin cells that have been infected with the virus. The white cells of the immune system then "eat" or destroy the infected skin cells in an effort to destroy the virus. This causes the damage seen as open lesions.
An initial outbreak of shingles is usually considered by the subject to be some bug-bite or small rash. When it persists and becomes worse over the course of a few days, the subject often reports to their general practitioner or dermatologist. This appointment may be a day or two out. By the time the condition is diagnosed and conventional medical treatment has been initiated, it is often 4 to 5 days into the outbreak. This is typical and problematic as the antivirals used in an effort to contain the outbreak (Famvir) have shown clinical efficacy only when the treatment is initiated within 48 hours of the initiation of the symptoms. The condition is rarely recognized this soon.
After the lesions have healed, the rash has subsided and the virus has gone into remission, 50% of the sufferers will experience lingering nerve pain called Post Herpetic Neuralgia. This painful condition (PHN) can last from months to years. The standard of medical care for PHN is pain relievers. Recommended pain relievers can be taken orally, such as Darvoset, or can be applied in time-release patches directly to the painful area, such as a lidocaine patch (Lidoderm). Long-term use of painkillers has been found to be physiologically problematic from a number of perspectives. Alleviating the pain and discomfort associated with PHN has presented clinicians with a difficult task. This difficulty is evident in the wide range of drugs prescribed, which includes, but is not limited to, antivirals, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, local anesthetics, opiates, and nerve blocks. Since the lesions are usually healed within 10 weeks and the PHN can last from months to years, the majority of suffering occurs in the PHN stage of the condition. A product that could sooth the neural inflammation and reduce suffering during the prolonged period of PHN would be a tremendous benefit to sufferers of Herpes Zoster.
In order to use herbology to deal with this condition in a holistic manner would require a three pronged approach. Firstly, one must stop the virus by terminating its unchecked replication. This can be done with a couple of herbs that are notable antivirals. Poke berries contain proteins that are powerful antivirals. Chaparral contains alkaloids which have exhibited excellent anti- herpetic ability. A low-temperature water extraction works well to decoct the poke weed constituents and a somewhat higher temperature is effective at decocting the Chaparral.
The second and equally as important aspect to treating this condition is the remediation of the intense itching and pain. As a topical anti-inflammatory, St. John's Wort is quite effective. For severe cases, Arnica and Willow act nicely as an analgesic, while Lavender and Yarrow offer antispasmodic relief, relaxing the traumatized nerves.
The third aspect of this approach is to aid in repairing the tissue damage. This is accomplished nicely with Comfrey as its cell proliferant qualities in association with a little vitamin C help to rebuild the damaged skin. Applying these herbal extractions topically reduces the body-burden and exposure of internal organs and simply avoids the issues related to hepatoxicity. Since the herbs are not being digested, the amounts given are greatly reduced and the amount of valuable constituents available at the infection site are greatly enhanced.
This three phased approach to treating the whole problem is embodied in a couple of products called Peaceful Mountain Shingles Rescue and Shingles Rescue Plus. These herbal gels are topically applied to the region of the outbreak and have shown dramatic reduction in pain, inflammation and itching. When used during the course of the outbreak, they have reduced the duration and mitigated the pain sufficiently to allow a rapid return to normal life. In cases of post herpetic neuralgia, users report switching from lidocaine patches and in some cases neurontin to the regular application of Shingles Rescue Plus alone.
It is the opinion of this author that the lingering neuralgia (PHN) is caused by continued attack of the white blood cells on the Schwann cells that make up the myelin sheath of the nerves. While most of the virus return to the nerve ganglia and become dormant, some may remain in the Schwann cells causing the T-cells to continue to mark them for destruction. In order to deal with this directly while mitigating the nerve inflammation, the aforementioned gels containing the anti-virals are recommended for managing the pain of PHN so that they may still inhibit the viral replication. In fact, some chronic cases of PHN have actually been terminated by a short course of application suggesting that the virus may have been driven out of the Schwann cells.
Treating all aspect of a disease is important in medicine but especially so in herbology. Too often a single herb or small combination of herbs are prescribed to treat either the symptoms or perhaps the cause. In order to holistically treat the patient and out-perform conventional medicine, we must address the cause, relieve the symptoms and help the body to repair the damage. Our efforts to utilize more fully embodied treatments such as this, we will continue to engender far greater respect from the public.