SearchExclusive.com

The Best Medication and Natural Treatments for Shingles

Studies have found that every 1 in 3 people has suffered from shingles during their lifetime. Shingles, also known as Herpes Zoster, is an infection caused by a virus—specifically, the Varicella Zoster virus. This virus is also known to cause chickenpox. The indication of shingles is a painful rash.

The varicella virus continues to stay in your body after your chickenpox infection. Once it gets over the dormant state, the virus causes the shingles rash. The rash can appear on any part of your body. Usually, it occurs only in small sections.

It starts with a pain in the localized area and moves on to become a pus-filled blister in a few days. Fever, fatigue, and sensitivity to light are the commonly experienced symptoms in addition to the rash and pain.

What is the cure?
There’s no cure for shingles. Doctors prescribe antiviral drugs to alleviate the symptoms. In 2 to 4 weeks, you will be back to normal, but scarring can remain. It has been observed that if you have suffered from shingles, chances of a second episode are remote.

Once detected with shingles, it is best to head to the doctor. If left untreated, complications can arise. These include postherpetic neuralgia, disseminated zoster that can affect the heart and liver, cause cranial nerve complications, scar and discolor the skin, and result in muscle weakness in the affected area.

Natural treatments
Although antiviral medications are recommended for the treatment of shingles, natural treatments are equally effective.

Following are some of the best shingles medication options. These help to alleviate the pain and reduce the discomfort caused due to the rash.

Cool compress
A cool compress offers you great relief from the pain. Dip a cloth in cool water, wring out the excess water and spread the moist cloth over the area affected by shingles. This procedure can be done many times a day.

However, avoid ice pack as the ice can increase the sensitivity of the skin.

Healing bath
Taking a cold-water bath helps soothe the skin. The cold water reduces the itchiness that accompanies the rashes. Furthermore, cleansing the blisters daily lowers the spread of infection. Healing baths are soothing on the skin as well. To prepare a healing bath, pour 1 to 2 cups of cornstarch or colloidal oatmeal in lukewarm water and soak in for 15 to 20 minutes. Dry yourself up completely.

Homeopathic remedies
Homeopathy is an alternate type of medication that helps the body to heal on its own. In fact, you can follow the homeopathic remedy in conjunction with the antiviral treatment for shingles. These remedies help to reduce itchiness and pain. Options include graphites, mezereum, Cantharis, hypericum, ranunculus bulbosus, Arsenicum album, and Rhus Toxicodendron.

It is best to consult a homeopathic practitioner before you start the treatment.

Paste of baking soda and cornstarch
Either baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or cornstarch can be used to make a paste. Take two parts of either of these and mix with 1 part of water. Apply this paste on the shingles-affected area. Rinse off after 10-15 minutes. This paste can be applied several times a day.

Soothing creams and lotions
The itchy rash can make you keep scratching throughout the day. However, scratching can lead to scarring and more soreness of the rash. The creams and lotions, though not effective in reducing the infection, can be soothing to the skin and decrease your level of discomfort. A calamine lotion can be applied after bathing on the rash.

Topical ointments containing capsaicin can be applied on the local area 3 to 4 times a day. Capsaicin has an anti-inflammatory effect that can help to ease the pain.

Diet changes to strengthen the immune system
A weak immune system can cause the spread of a shingles infection to other parts of the body. A diet that gives a boost to the immune system is very much needed. The shingles diet consists of foods that contain Vitamin A, C, E, and B12 as well as lysine, which is an amino acid.

Foods that provide these nutrients include green leafy vegetables, legumes, whole grains, red meat, eggs, orange and yellow-colored fruits, chicken, dairy, beans, spinach, and tomato.

While the above foods strengthen the immune system, certain foods can prolong the active duration of the shingles virus. It is best to eliminate such foods from your diet. These include refined carbs, foods with high sugar content, foods brimming with saturated fats, and foods containing arginines like chocolates, gelatin, and nuts.

Herbal medicines and supplements
Insomnia and anxiety are caused due to shingles. There are some herbal medicines and supplements that can help fight shingles and treat these symptoms. These include green tea, lemon balm, oregano oil, melatonin, St, John’s Wort, and echinacea. It is in your best interest to take these supplements and medications post a doctor’s consultation.

The shingles virus runs its course from 2 to 4 weeks. Natural shingles medication does not offer a cure, but it helps to get relief from the pain and rash. When used along with prescription drugs like Acyclovir, Valtrex, Famvir, or Zovirax, the healing process is sped up.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.