Serious suffering may inspire creative experimentation. We are often impressed with the variety of remedies people use to ease shingles pain.
If you see a doctor early enough in a shingles attack, she can prescribe an antiviral drug such as acyclovir, famciclovir or valacyclovir. These oral medications can help reduce searing shingles pain, but they must be started within a few days of the start of the outbreak. Getting a prompt diagnosis of shingles can be trickier than it might seem.
We’ve heard of people using Listerine for shingles pain, but apple cider vinegar is an innovation we hadn’t encountered. Then we heard from this reader:
Q. When I had shingles, I applied apple cider vinegar to the rash. I thought it would burn, but within minutes it eased the itch and burning of the shingles.
Later my daughter had shingles and used the same remedy. The only downside was the vinegar smell.
A. A shingles attack can cause extreme pain. Prescription antiviral drugs (acyclovir, famciclovir, valaciclovir, etc) are always the first line of defense and can speed healing if used early enough.
Home Remedies for Shingles Pain:
Some people say that applying topical amber Listerine brings relief from shingles pain. Be cautious, though. One woman noted that a friend tried Listerine for her shingles and thought she was on fire. She suggested trying a very small area to determine if the remedy is helping or hurting. We would add the same caveat for vinegar.
