Question: How is shingles treated?

Dr. Brownstein's Answer:

Shingles, also called herpes zoster, is a painful skin disease that breaks out due to a reactivation of the chickenpox virus. It can be very painful and last for a long time.

In fact, for many people shingles can be a very debilitating illness.

It is important to treat shingles early in the course of the illness. The longer you wait to begin treatment, the harder it is to treat.

Conventional medicine treats shingles with antiviral drugs and steroids. These medications can help if started early in the course of the illness. I have found vitamin B12 shots to be very helpful for treating shingles. I recommend injecting one milligram of vitamin B12 (either hyroxy- or methylcobalamin) daily for 30 days.

Furthermore, vitamin C, both intravenous and orally dosed, helps further. I suggest taking 10,000 to 20,000 mg of vitamin C orally per day, if you don’t get diarrhea.

Another option is 25,000 mg of vitamin C administered in a slow-drip IV each week until the pain is gone.

Finally, acupuncture has proven helpful for treating shingles infections.