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.
Clay
Posted by Danny (Toronto, Canada) on 10/03/2015
★★★★★
I had shingles on my back over thirty years ago.
I have a book Our Earth Our Cure. It suggested to use a clay poultice on the area. I went to the Heath food store and bought regular powdered clay. You take a glass or ceramic bowl, put some clay in the bottom and cover with tap water.Let it sit for a couple of hours. Get a white piece of cotton cloth and put some clay on it with a wooden spoon ( no metal ). Place the cloth on the affected area. Since it was on my back I used one of those elastic bandages and wound it around my body.Keep it on overnight and re-apply in the morning. Within 24 hours the pain disappeared.
I kept it up for a whole month and have never had any recurrences since then.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Lysine
Posted by Lori (South Florida) on 09/03/2015
★★★★★
Just realized I'm having a shingles outbreak on my inner thigh. Haven't had one in 10 yrs. Immediately took 1000mg of L-lysine and Vitamin C. Put apple cider vinegar on a cotton ball and put it on the rash for a few moments. Will come back to update.
9/7/15 UPDATE: Since 9/3 I've been taking 500mg L-lysine twice a day and using Apple Cider Vinegar on the rash twice a day on a cotton ball for a few seconds. Can say the rash is drying up! A few minutes after using ACV the pain and itch goes away for most of the day. It's working!
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Karen (Pueblo Of Acoma, Nm) on 04/25/2014
★★★★★
I have been suffering with shingles for a couple of weeks now, using various treatments from this website, such as dabbing ACV with a cotton ball, which stings, but also soothes. I've also tried mixing baking powder and cayenne with a little ACV to make a paste and rubbing that on and letting it dry. That really gave me the most relief until a friend suggested colloidal silver. I was not familiar with it, but was desperate for some relief, so, after reading up on it on this site, I have been taking 1 tsp. 3 to 5 times a day, as well as dabbing it on the areas with a cotton ball. I'm also drinking ACV in filtered water, and taking goldenseal, lysine, B vitamins and Vit. C. I am finally getting some relief and some much needed sleep! The patches are no longer thick and hard, but are much softer and not as raised. Some areas have almost completely disappeared, no more lumps, just reddened skin. I'm not sure which of the treatments are making the difference, but I will continue to do all of them until this is gone! I hope this helps anyone else who is suffering from shingles!
Vitamin C
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 12/07/2016
Dear Hisjewel and Timh,
I am following this conversation with interest and have been pondering the whole vitamin C and shingles thing.
It really struck a chord with me because I think I have had a couple of shingles flare ups recently; one was during the Thanksgiving holiday when we had company and I was very busy. I realized I had a burning pain on my skin on on side at my waist. I took aspirin (Ted says it has antiviral properties) and about 8 grams of vitamin C a day. Plus I used a topical menthol/eucalyptus salve that I make. The burning passed and I never had blisters or other symptoms.
So, shingles is caused by the varicella virus, which we have in our systems from having had chicken pox as children. So, while the acute chicken pox clears up in 10 days or so, we are left with a virus that is in us for life and flares up at some point later for some. It seems to come in conjunction with other sicknesses, times of stress, or other low immunity situations.
It makes me thing of Dave's theory of many chronic illnesses (like autoimmune) having a viral link.
The Epstein Barr Virus, which causes mono, is another that seems to flare back up or be linked to other problems later on. My children had mono several years ago. One of my sons, when he gets sick, even a cold, will start to act like he did when he had mono (extreme exhaustion.) Well, we had found that coconut oil was amazing for mono. So now, every time he is sick with anything and seems run down, I give him coconut oil and he is better fast. In fact, over the weekend he had a cough and I gave him coconut oil for it before I tried anything else, and poof! The cough was gone. I don't actually know if that is because the coconut oil was fighting a mono flare up or just because he responds well to that antiviral. But I know it works.
Sorry, I know I am rambling here and not sure how to get to my point.
The body is so complex. And I think past diseases do flare up again depending on other stresses to the body (including sickness, lack of sleep, stress, etc.) Could we completely eliminate them with more diligent use of natural antivirals? Maybe so.
Another thing I notice is that everyone is different. Here Vitamin C helped me a lot with shingles but made it worse for you, Hisjewel. I see this with my children. Different ones respond to different remedies. You learn your body (or that of your children) to know what suits you. My one son - coconut oil is the answer for him when he is sick.
I so enjoy reading what others do to heal diseases. There is so much to learn. Always something new to try. While it would be easier if there were always a one size fits all solution, it does keep it interesting that healing can be so complex.
Keep sharing and I will keep reading!
~Mama to Many~
Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda Paste
Posted by Candace Pfau (Franklin, N.C.) on 08/03/2013
★★★★★
I have shingles, taking the anti viral. But accidently found out that a paste of hydrogen peroxide mixed with baking soda stops the spreading. Or changes its course. Stopped from going up my face cold turkey. Of course then it started working down my neck. Each place you feel it breaking out, the itch, a paste of this will kill it or stop it. It also makes the blisters feel better. I had used this on cuts to heal them when nothing else would. Going to try the cayene pepper.
Olive Leaf Extract
Posted by Maggie (Philadelphia, Pa) on 07/04/2013
★★★★★
I got a nasty case of the shingles right below my rib cage on my right side a few weeks before I left for an overseas trip. It was so painful, I really thought I would have to cancel. The valcyclovir did nothing but upset my stomach, so I only took it for a few days. What really killed the shingles was olive leaf extract and vitamin C. I took 4 capsules of 20 percent standardized olive leaf extract and 500 mg of vitamin C 6 times a day for 10 days, when I reduced it to 3 capsules plus 500 mg vitamin C 4 times per day. After a month, I reduced it to 3 capsules plus 500 mg vitamin C 3 times per day and so on. It significantly reduced the pain and blisters and in 2 weeks both were pretty much gone, save for some zapping pain every once in a while. I continue to take a reduced dose just to make sure it doesn't return. Oh, and I had a great trip!
Coconut Oil
Posted by Debbie (Ny) on 05/28/2013
★★★★★
My boyfriend was diagnosed with Shingles. It was the left side of his face, from his eyelid up to his hairline. It was very painful. He was prescribed steroids and an anti viral medication. I immediately went to your site to see what else he could use to help the affected area. He uses coconut oil. It soothed the area, and it is helping the area heal faster. Thank you for all the great info you provide, it was extremely helpful. Sincerely, Debbie
Cayenne Pepper
Posted by Carla (Rusk, Texas) on 04/10/2012
★★★★★
I've had a terrible re-occuring case of shingles in the back of my throat since I was about 12 years old. After slowly removing and adapting to the stress in my life I only have one or two occurences a year now. This last week I've had a terrible case and did not want to use vicious lidocain, so I checked this site and saw that cayenne pepper helped some people. I bought some vitamin supplements of Cayenne Fruit and took one last night as directed on the bottle and did some meditation before sleeping. I had very little pain when I woke up this morning. I have just taken another pill with some wheat cereal and have had only a little pain. I recommend to try this for anyone that has Shingle of the Mouth.
Aloe Vera
Posted by Tiffany (Texas) on 08/23/2020
There are different varieties of aloe. Make sure it is aloe vera baradenisis miller. You must also drain the cut leaf of yellow liquid in a large cup of fresh water after harvesting for at least 30 minutes before use.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Lysine
Posted by Maryann (Emporia, Kansas) on 05/02/2013
Collodial Silver (liquid dietary supplement) is great to use as eye drops if you want to protect your eyes from your shingles outbreak. It's safe to use in eyes.
Zostavax Vaccine
Posted by Gail (New Hampshire) on 04/12/2021
My 2 youngest daughters got shingles at ages 5 and 7 after getting the chickenpox vaccine. The doctors didn't quite know what to think. Thankfully they didn't suffer much. I did not allow them to get the booster vax, and the school nurse was okay with that. Some years later I came across an article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/02/chicken-pox-vaccine-creates-shingles-epidemic.aspx
Perfectly explained what is happening to our elderly population now. I'm nearing the end of what is my first- and hopefully last- shingles outbreak. Thanks to EC, I have an arsenal of knowledge that will allow me to prevent this should it try to attack me again! And no, I won't be getting the shingles vax or any other for that matter!
L-Lysine and Vitaminc
Posted by Kelly (Us) on 05/18/2014
UPDATE - I ADDED liquid vitamin B12 by Now & it includes B-Complex also- 2x/day. This has made a significant difference.
L-Lysine
Posted by Laura (USA) on 07/12/2006
★★★★★
I heard about Shingles before but this is my first experience and what an experience had been so far!! It affected the left part of my face having my eye pretty compromised. I'm using antibacterial ointement for my eye, and is improving. I'm very careful with cleanness, washing right away towels, pillowcases etc. that had been in contact with my face. My main concern is to avoid the possibility of infecting also my right eye. I have a big property and love to work in the garden. Well, I'll not put my hands in the dirt until am out of the woods. I had been reading about the topical and internal application with apple vinegar and i'm willing to try since I have now those ugly red scars from the rash, maybe will help to heal faster, I'll be glad to let you know. If someone wants to write to me and exchange tips, please, feel free to do so. Following suggestions from the book in Nutritional Healing - James and Phyllis Balch - I'm taking L-Lysine, Vitamins C, B complex B12 - A - regular medication. Diet is important too, maintain a possitive attitude and stay away from depression, it doesn't help at all.
Lecithin + L-Lysine
Posted by June (Cincinnati) on 08/27/2025 30 posts
★★★★★
My husband had a terrible outbreak of Shingles. He took 3,000 mg of Lysine per day and 2500 mgs of soy lechitin twice a day for a few days. All dried up! Then he cut back on the dose but continued taking for week. Normally we don't take soy based products but I read that it works for shingles. It did! No pain, no burning. It's resolved. Thank you!
St. John's Wort
Posted by Susan (PA) on 01/21/2025
★★★★★
St. John's wort helped with my shingles. Within 30 minutes of applying St. John's wort oil to the rash, the area was lighter and less red. When the virus was active, my progression started with redness, followed by itching, followed by a rash. I started applying St. John's wort to every new red area that appeared and it would fade within 20 minutes without a rash developing there. I used the oil initially and switched to the tincture once I located some. I also took a few drops of the tincture (1 drop 4x/day building to 5 drops 4x/day) for 10 days.
For postherpetic neuralgia, I mix castor oil (1-2 TB) with cayenne pepper (1/8 tsp) and apply it to the sensitive area. It is messy but it is helping.
Echinacea
Posted by Ann (Phoenix) on 09/22/2022
★★★★★
I had a nasty case several years back and if it even starts to appear I take an herbal supplement with echinacea that knocks it out of the park before it becomes a nuisance :)
BHT and B12
Posted by Swfowkes (Cupertino, California) on 06/10/2022 46 posts
★★★★★
I disagree with Oscar on the B12 issue. The synergy between BHT and B12 was independently conformed by Ward Dean decades ago. BHT is lipid-soluble, B12 is water-soluble, so they work in different compartments in different ways. But both are classified as antiviral (catabolic, aerobic, acidifying) by Emanuel Revici's metabolic schema.
I had a shingles outbreak in my 40s due to allergic/toxic exposure to urethane adhesive. Trigeminal outbreak, two of three nerve paths, which responded quickly to BHT and B12. At 24 hours, the redness was dramatically reduced. By 48 hours, it was almost natural skin color. BTW, my outbreak was highly atypical in not being in any way painful. No pain, no itching, no neuropathy, only skin lesions. I had natural chicken pox as a child, so this outbreak was likely shingles. It was diagnosed as shingles by visual inspection by MD. And no shingles outbreaks since despite 25-30 years of aging.
Vitamin B12
Posted by Aurora (Mason City, LA) on 04/10/2021
★★★★★
Hi, I recently had shingles, with a lot of pain in one leg. I talked to a doctor friend in Mexico and he told me that they use vitamin B12 to heal and help regenerate nerves. Also, I found out that Acetyl-L Carnitine is good for neuropathy pain relief, and possibly regenerating the nerve.
L-Lysine
Posted by Julie (SWFL) on 03/21/2020
★★★★★
Lysine + maximum strength (MGO) raw Manuka Honey raw
My husband had chicken pox twice (as a child and in high school) and recently had his first episode of shingles, on one arm.
I gave him 1000 mg Lysine (by mouth) twice a day, coated the rash with the highest MGO rated Manuka honey and covered it with gauze + a tube bandage overnight for 5 days. It's gone.
Licorice Extract
Posted by Jonathan C. (Shelburne MA) on 10/16/2019 4 posts
★★★★★
I got shingles after doing a triathlon. At first, I thought it was chafing, then went to the ER and confirmed the diagnosis. The doctor said the stress of an athletic event like this could bring it on. Thank goodness for EarthClinic!
At first, I immediately tried the essential oils of geranium, lavender and tea tree and eucalyptus and they seemed to help. Then I tried Licorice Extract, applying it three times per day, and, within days the shingles were noticeably on the retreat; within ten days, totally gone! I had it a total of two weeks and, because of the Licorice Extract, I had very little discomfort. Unbelievably grateful for EarthClinic!
Red Marine Algae
Posted by Gaya (Miami) on 01/13/2016
★★★★★
Shingles:
Red Marine Algae took away my nerve stabbing pain in about 36 hours. Take at least 4 tabs. It also stops the spread and cuts the life span. I'm 90% better in just days.
Calamine Lotion
Posted by Anon (Usa) on 04/28/2018
Try oil of wild oregano super strength in the diluted drops orally at first sign you are having an outbreak. Take three drops under the tongue at least three times a day and see if this helps to knock it out. Good luck!
