Silly me! I mean, I am a nutritionist, but… I just never thought about it. There are nutritional steps you can take if you have shingles.
I got this from National Nutrition
* Avoid coffee, cola, and black tea – caffeine depletes nutrients needed to deal with stress
* Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
* Take a Vitamin B complex, ase well a Vitamin C, Oregano Oil, and lysine to boost your immune system
* Use capsaicin cream or Four Thieves oil to relieve discomfort
Posted in SHINGLES
Tagged AROMATHERAPY RECIPES, four thieves oil, itch, itching, SHINGLES
Dear friends:
I have never thought that I would recommend a vaccination, and I am still not to the point that I would say I should have taken the shingles (it’s a crapshoot – you might not get shingles, right?) Still, I am here to say that you might seriously want to consider it.
Most people only get shingles once. Almost all doctors will tell you that you can only get it once (I was lucky to run into a dermatologist who believes that people can get shingles more than once). Still, interestingly, all of the doctors will tell you that once you have had shingles, the vaccine won’t work for you (why would you need it if you have already had it, and you can’t get it again, I wonder?) This is my 19th episode, and my 18th was only about a month ago, on my face.
This time, it is under where I would wear my bra (just can’t do that right now, so major wardrobe restructuring going on). I was talking to my mom, who has never had shingles but knows lots of old people (big population for shingles). I said it itches. She said shingles doesn’t itch. Okay. I sat around and thought about what I have heard about shingles. It is painful. Yep. But, I seem to be defining that pain/discomfort as the most unreal itch that can’t be assuaged, unless you claw a hole in your skin, and then it probably still wouldn’t feel better.
As a multiple-episode person, I’ll tell you that I ‘finally realize it’s shingles again when I realize that I cannot resist “petting” the place – I mean, I have to fight doing it, because “petting” it seems to reduce the discomfort (itch/pain/discomfort/agony– I’m going to tell you that scratching the heck out of it is really really satisfying, but I do know that I can make a hole in myself and that could make it worse, so I somehow manage not to do that, but “petting” helps – I think, if you have had shingles, you do know what I am talking about. If you ever do get shingles, I feel certain that you will immediately know what I am talking about, regardless of what you call the discomfort.)
This is probably the most uncomfortable episode I have had, because it is all across my left boob. I carry my handbag on my left shoulder. I had no idea how many times my handbag touches my boob, nor how many times in the day a movement happens to touch a boob. I sure do know now. I call those moments “bright” ones – it is like someone turned on a light bulb in a dark room when you weren’t ready. It is not like bumping a cut place. It is an exquisite agony. Then the place starts remembering that it is there and starts up with that “irritation feeling” (what some call pain, what I call itch – have you ever had surgery, and you can’t get at that place that is healing, and all those sensations you feel, and nothing you can do for it – that is what I am calling itch)
So, right now, I am using the last of my Zovirax twice or three times a day, and I put on some lavendar oil after I rub the Zovirax in. I carry Four Thieves oil with me, and put that on if I get to a point where I cannot deal with the “sensation”. The Four Thieves gives a burning sensation at first (actually welcome – I can’t feel the other sensation), and then I don’t feel anything for a good while.)
I hope you don’t ever need this information. I really really do. I have enemies, and people I don’t like, but I cannot imagine wishing this “fun” on any of them (are you hearing this, nasty people?) I would wish the flu on someone before I would wish this on them (if you’ve ever had the flu, you will understand – at least, with the flu, you sleep through most of it, and you imagine dying, and good stuff like that)
So, if you ever do happen to get shingles (because you, like me, don’t believe in vaccinations, or because you just didn’t get the vaccination, or because you had no clue), your name for the “sensation” may be different from mine, but, regardless, you should see your allopath (regular doctor), if you have one, and, if you don’t have insurance, put Four Thieves Oil on first (you’ll feel like howling), and then, later, put on lavender oil on. Four Thieves will make the sensation be quiet, after you stop wanting to scream, and lavender is a good follow-up, a couple of hours later, when you start getting antsy.
My protocol is: Zovirax in the morning, then lavendar oil on top of it. At work, Four Thieves when I start wanting to scratch a hole in myself. More Zovirax when I come home, followed by lavender oil.
Yes, this is not totally natural,but it is the best I can do. I’ve been at this for about 6 or 7 years. I am tired. I am lazy. I want it just to stop.
I think that sometimes, you have to see what works for you, and combine that with other things that work – I have followed all of the natural cures, but this Zovirax works great for me (okay, it might kill me down the line, especially since I use it only a little less than I use toothpaste, but it sure does help) Still, especially since I am probably going to have to discontinue my health insurance since I can’t afford it (I mean, I can go to the doctor or pay my rent), I am very into the natural treatments, which do work very well if I don’t have any other option.
Posted in Four Thieves, LAVENDER OIL, SHINGLES, Uncategorized
Don’t you just hate those people who know everything? I mean… NOT! It is so cool when people have paid attention to their mothers and grandmothers and filled in by reading books and other people’s blogs, and then share all of this with us!
If Creative Homemaking does not have it, you probably don’t need it. (okay, you might want it, but then you know how to find that!)
I have a cup-sized mesh strainer that I put over my cup so that I can strain it one cup at a time. (I keep the broth on the stove on low throughout the day when I am sick.) After I have added honey, then I taste it. If I can handle more cayenne, then I will add more
Posted in HEALING, HEALING FORMULAS, Uncategorized
I clicked on A Blossoming Life thinking I was going to see some food recipes – but no — it was even better – lots of natural personal hygiene and beauty care idea – I won’t copy them here – you can copy them when you go there.
I am just the messenger this time
I’ve just discovered a couple of very nice spots for natural beauty and health care.
Humblebee and Me is a compendium of various DIY ideas, with a number of DIY beauty and hair care projects. Definitely worth saving and revisiting often. I was drawn to this site for its argan beauty serum, but stayed for all the other good things.
Everyday Roots has a lots of natural health and wellness DIY recipes. They also have a Facebook page
I’ll bookmark these sites and visit often.
Outside time is coming up, if it is not already in your area! Oh gosh! How wonderful!
But…. Outside is where bugs live. Uh oh!
If you have been with me for a while, you know about my “no-see-ums” remedies – those remedies also work for a lot of other bug bites.
Meanwhile, here are some other traditional bug bite remedies – I mean, I swear by all of the above, but you might meet a new bug or something – it is always good to have a Plan B!
FOR ITCHING/STINGS
Apply lavender oil to affected area
Apply Four Thieves Oil to affected area
Apply apple cider vinegar to affected area.
Crush or mince a garlic clove. Spread garlic over affected area, and cover with a bandage. Spread honey on a cloth. Place ice cubes on top of the honey. Fold cloth over the honey and ice,and place on affected area.
FOR A STINGER WHERE THE STINGER IS STILL IN: dip a cotton ball in ammonia and tape it over the bite/sting, to draw out the stinger and reduce the irritation/sting/pain
Posted in bugbites, Four Thieves, INSECT BITES, ITCHING, LAVENDER OIL, NO-SEE-UMS
Tagged BUGBITES, insect bites, itch, itching, lavender, no-see-ums
A while back, I wrote on “no-see-ums” – whatever that is that bites you and you can’t see it, but you start itching like crazy — not bedbugs, not mosquitos, not fleas, not lice(those you can see) – and it only happens, usually, in specific places. The big symptom of “no-see-ums” is uncontrolled itching – you can scratch yourself bloody before you even notice you’re doing it.
No-see-ums can make you wonder if you’re losing your mind – you may find yourself scratching yourself raw before you even realize you’re doing it, while others, even in the same room, may not recognize the issue. If you think you are getting bitten, you are getting bitten. It is not in your mind, even though you can’t see what is biting you (I believe that no-see-ums can be in one part of a room but not in another, and that some people in the room may be more susceptible to them than others: case in point: I teach in a private adult education facility, and, sometimes, I will be scratching myself to pieces and no one else will be affected, while, at other times, several other people will complain that they feel they have been bitten by something).
A number of people have written their comments, or their requests for help, or, even, sometimes things they have found useful, so I’m going to reprise the topic, and list what I have found useful, as well as ideas I’ve gotten from readers who have told me what has worked for me.
A couple of ways to double-check, if you want to prove to yourself that it is nothing else:
Now, if you do believe that you have a no-see-ums issue, you can take some evasive action:
FOUR THIEVES OIL OR VINEGAR – this antiseptic/anti-viral formula really works for taking out the itch. The vinegar recipe takes a while to make, but you can but it on food (so you might develop an immunity – I haven’t personally explored that idea), but the problem is that you will smell like vinegar. The oil recipes smell kind of nice (people often ask me what fragrance I’m wearing), and you can carry them with you and apply the oil as soon as you notice you’re itching – it might sting a bit at first, but it will take the itch away, and it has antibiotic properties, so, if you’ve already drawn blood, it will protect against infection. This is one remedy I swear by – I always carry a little bottle of Four Thieves oil with me.
LAVENDER OIL – This is an antiseptic essential oil which will help with the itch and does seem to stop the bites from coming. I carry it with me always, as it is a good emergency remedy, and, if I have nothing better, I use it for no-see-ums. It works reasonably well for me and smells very nice, as well. I don’t think it works as well as other remedies for spraying a space, though.
BABY OIL – Someone suggested this one, and, although baby oil is not organic or anything close to natural, I will still go with it because it seems to repel the no-see-ums — if you slather it all over your skin, you get a moisturizer and you don’t get bitten. It works as a repellent, and it doesn’t worry people too much if you drag it out and start rubbing it all over your arms (where I usually get hit)
LEMON GRASS/LEMON GRASS ESSENTIAL OIL – A reader suggested planting lemon grass around one’s home to prevent entry – this reader felt that the lemon grass all around the home kept the no-see-ums from coming in. I live in a New York City apartment (I haven’t had no-see-ums here, but…), and I work in a New York City office building (no way to plant lemon grass there), but I have found some apartment-friendly/public space-acceptable solutions:
POST #50
NOTE: If you read my raw food blog, this is a cross-post.
Almost most every time I get involved with raw vegans, the topics of cosmetics and personal hygiene/body care come up (It could be because I wear make-up, and won’t stop! Yes, I was a hippie back in the real hippie time, and I got started with natural and raw vegan food and lifestyle back then. Nevertheless, in several areas, particularly makeup, I have reverted to my GRITS — Girl Raised in the South– upbringing, and I am just not going to stop wearing makeup and I don’t care what anybody says! End of Rant.) Because my skin is very delicate (I am a Southern Belle, after all), I have always looked for more natural skin care/personal hygiene products. In this wonderful modern world, in this big city I live in, there is LUSH, a company out of England, which makes natural, mostly organic, mostly vegan skincare, personal hygiene, and bath products. Their deodorant, TEO, is truly fabulous (keeps me smelling pleasant, even in the middle or at the end of Hot Yoga). It is a powder that comes in a cake — You need a container, and you need to break it up, then use a brush to apply it. It costs about $8.00– but I don’t expect to run out of it for at least a year– (possibly more if you have to buy it on-line)
The hippie/natural girl/poor girl in me still likes to know that I can make my own deodorant out of things that are already in my kitchen (okay, I don’t normally have baking soda or arrowroot powder, but I could arrange for that to happen). This deodorant is really great, and I can keep it in the refrigerator, so it will last for months, and keep me smelling pleasant.
From a recipe at: realfoodmyway.blogspot.com
Posted in Uncategorized
POST #49
Oh, now, this might be interesting for those of you who are trying out a raw vegan diet because of allergies or intestinal difficulties or other maladies the doctors won’t really name.
My mom just told me that a friend of hers had had some serious intestinal troubles, to the point that he had been hospitalized and then actually sent to a “rehab center” (I’m reading new name for “nursing home”). His symptoms sounded so much like candidiasis that I asked her what they said he had (my mom, who is young, but not so young, is always on the alert, since she has overcome cancer). She knew, and she told me it was CDEF. Interesting…. So I googled around long enough and finally came up for natural cures for CDEF – guess what! They are all called Candidiasis symptoms “something new”.
I have a vested interest in this since I long suspected that I had systemic candiasis (which is the basic definition for CDEF), and I have done a number of candidiasis cleanses (I guess you could live very cleanly after one and maybe never get it again, but, between surgeries, and eating “lapses”, I have tended to get this over and over again, until I got it too seriously this past year, and had to get mega-serious) Candidiasis is what got me interested in nutrition in the first place – I knew about it, and then one of my Reiki students, who brought her own food along, shared with me that she had studied nutrition because of candidiasis. When I came down with symptoms, I knew where to look, and *voila*!
What is frustrating about candidiasis is the doctors’ unwillingness to admit that that is what you have. This seems very strange to me. I had a weird infection on my chest that sent me to my dermatologist. He told me that it was a fungal infection and when I asked him which one, he said it was candidiasis. He prescribed some creams. I looked them up, and the medical information said they were indicated for candida skin infections. They worked. I got another similar infection on my arm, and he said I should use the same creams. When I went for a check-up, however, he denied that my arm infection was candida (even though the medication prescribed was for candida)
My mom’s friend’s wife asked the nurses if her husband had candidiasis, and they said yes, but then started with a lot of blah blah blah – confusion tactics?
Never mind! Through a little (very little) assiduous searching of the web (I asked “is CDEF candidiasis” and read down until I found the answer – Yes! – Okay, I got tricky and asked for natural treatments for CDEF, and came up with things like “Candida Clear” by NOW), I discovered that CDEF is actually systemic candidiasis by another name.
Why do doctors want to deny candidiasis and give it another name? I am curious, but am very tempted to fall back on the usual reason – that candidiasis *can* be cured by natural, dietary methods, and treating the symptoms only will result in long term candiasis infection.
If you suspect that you might have candidiasis (it has been estimated that 80% of the population does), or if you have been told that you have it, or have CDEF, you might like to look at my candidiasis web pages: http://www.angelfire.com/mb/manifestnow/nutrition/candidapage.html
I will be cross-posting this on http://prettysmartnaturalideas.com and http://prettysmartnutrition.wordpress.com
and prettysmartnutrition.wordpress.com
PRETTY SMART NATURAL IDEAS 