Keep the affected area clean, dry, and exposed to air (without clothes covering it) as much as possible. Don't scratch or burst the blisters. If you have difficulty in sleeping because of the pain, bind the area with an elastic sports bandage.
Extra dose of Vitamin C and B through citrus fruits, amala, vegetables will help boost the immune system. Tender coconut water is also recommended.
For relief of pain and itching
1. prepare or compound from a pharmacy:
- Calamine lotion - 78 percent
- Rubbing alcohol - 20 percent
- Phenol - 1 percent
- Menthol - 1 percent
Apply this mixture continuously on the affected parts until your blisters scab over
2. Take a washcloth or towel, dip it in cold water, squeeze it out, and apply it to the affected area, the cooler it is, the better it feels.
3. Mix 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar with 2 cups of water. Moisten a clean cotton face-cloth with this solution. Wring slightly and rub affected area with the moist towel upwards towards the heart after the shingles attack subsides and the blisters dry up. Repeat this procedure for an hour daily, as needed. You may add following in this compress also: Vitamin E oil, Cool goldenseal, mugwort or peppermint tea, a solution of baking soda and water.
4. Aloe vera gel, raw honey, or fresh leek juice when applied over the rash several times a day also helps relieve pain and itching.
5. A gel or poultice made from licorice root if applied 2-3 time a day, reduces the pain in 3-4 days.
6. Drink Pear juice or eat pears. It has anti-viral properties for herpes zoster virus.
7. Place plain yogurt mixed with zinc oxide, if available, along the path of the nerve, 2-3 times daily. This treatment, if started at the first sign of the outbreak, will often clear up herpes zoster virus causing shingles in twenty-four to forty eight hours.
8. Avoid soft carbohydrates, sugar, dairy. Sour items other than citrus fruits should also be avoided.
answered by S B