Besides the two major types of herpes– simplex virus-HSV 1 and herpes simplex virus-HSV2, there is yet another type of herpes. It is called herpes zoster or shingles. Herpes zoster may cause severe pain in people over 60. It may last very long and may not be evaluated by pharmaceutical medicines.
The virus of herpes zoster actually has no relationship with the virus of herpes 1 or 2 although it also bears the name of herpes. Its virus owes its origin to chicken pox that usually attacks young people especially children.
As is well-known, chicken pox usually appears and goes away after a certain duration with or without treatment.
But while the overt symptoms of chicken pox disappear, its virus places in latent form in the body of the patient and reappears at some later stage absolutely without any fore-warning.
It may appear even after decades when the person may even have crossed the age of seventy or even more and forgotten all about the chicken pox. It takes you off-guards and shocks you out of your wits.
The new avatar of chicken pox is called herpes zoster or shingles.
It appears as rashes generally on the right side of the chest and travels below the arm and reaches over to the back opposite to the affected chest area. Of course, it may appear on other parts of the body also.
The rashes aggravate into lesions or blisters and cause severe pain when they burst.
When it attacks you and by the time you collect yourself, react to it and decide to consult your doctor, it takes a serious turn. The itching rashes become dense and deep and start developing into blisters within a period, say of 48 hours. What happens if you are traveling and can not show yourself to a doctor?
The first remark a doctor may make on seeing you may generally be that you are a bit late.
Allopathic prescription for the rashes is generally the same as that of herpes 1 and 2. It is Valtrex, Famvir and Acyclovir capsules or tablets.
The symptoms disappear within a week or fortnight. But the real problem begins when you suffer from post herpetic neuralgia-a very painful condition.
As mentioned above, if you have an attack of shingles when you are past 60-70, your suffering may show no end because the immune system of old people generally becomes quite weak. And unless your immune system becomes strong, which may take quite some time and effort, you will not be able to get substantial relief from neuralgic pains unless you take pain killers on a daily basis.
But do not panic. You can cure shingles permanently through natural, herbal and or homeopathic treatment. For example, the leaves of a popular Indian plant called neem – Azadirachta indica – have amazing curative properties for diseases like shingles.