Guest guest Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 > " HSI - Jenny Thompson " > <HSIResearch > Of All the Nerve > Mon, 19 Jul 2004 08:37:43 -0400 > > Of All the Nerve > > Health Sciences Institute e-Alert > > Monday July 19, 2004 > > ************************************************************** > > Dear Reader, > > Most of us have memories of coping with a bout of > chicken pox at > a young age. At this point, all I remember about my > experience is > that the welts itched and I got to stay home and > watch TV while > my sister went to school. Sweet! > > And what we've always heard about chicken pox, of > course, is that > once you've had it, you're done with it. And while > that's true – > chicken pox almost never recurs – there's an > additional threat > associated with these fowl pox that may lie in wait > for decades > after the last welts have disappeared: herpes > zoster; better known > as shingles. > > Today's e-Alert was prompted by an e-mail from an > HSI member > named Margi who has shingles. Margi writes: " I've > been suffering > for 10 weeks now and using conventional medicine > without much > luck. I would appreciate anything you might have > that is new and > interesting. > > I only wish Margi had written to us sooner, because > there are > several natural therapies she can use to help reduce > shingles pain > and shorten the healing period. > > ------- > Busy B > ------- > > " Ten weeks! I had it for a week and about died. " > > That was the response from HSI Panelist Allan > Spreen, M.D., > when I told him about Margi's request. In the > e-Alert " Rain on My > Parade " (5/12/04), Dr. Spreen mentioned that he'd > had " many > chances to recommend B-12 for shingles (for which it > works > well). " When I asked him to elaborate on this > vitamin B-12 > regimen, he explained: " The key is that the virus > inhabits the nerve > root, activating during some onset of stress. B-12 > goes to the nerve > sheath, directly, as a nutrient, and is the best > attack I know. " > > But Dr. Spreen's B-12 regimen is a little more > involved than just > popping a few sub-lingual B-12 tabs. To begin with, > he suggests > that as soon as a case of shingles is diagnosed, the > patient should > take 1 mg (1000 mcg, or 1cc) of B-12 by > intramuscular injection > per day for a week, then once each week until > symptoms are > completely gone. > > Intramuscular injection may not seem too appealing, > but Dr. > Spreen notes that it's not as bad as it sounds: > " It's easy to teach a > person to inject themselves, especially since it's > cheap and they > have quite an incentive if they have shingles. At > first, the injections > are pretty important (as I've seen nothing else work > as well or as > fast). They cause crusting to occur much faster. > > " It is possible to use sub-lingual B-12, which > allows for the use of > methyl-B-12 form, which is the most powerful, and > nearly > impossible to get by the intramuscular route, but I > like starting with > a few shots to 'prime the pump'. 1-2 mg of the > sub-lingual form > daily should work pretty well after that. " > > ------ > > Flower power > ------ > > In addition to vitamin B-12, Dr. Spreen offers these > suggestions: > " To shorten the duration of shingles, I'd add > alpha-lipoic acid, > several hundred milligrams per day, along with > vitamin C (of > course), at least 1000 milligrams three times/day. > Anything to > enhance the immune system will shorten the misery. " > > The misery may also be shortened by a topical > application of > geranium oil. > > A case of shingles may last less than 10 days, but > it's the post- > herpetic neuralgia (PHN) that can hang on and cause > considerable > pain for long periods. In a study published in The > American > Journal of Medicine, researchers divided 30 adults > suffering PHN > into four groups. One group received topical > treatments of > geranium oil, while two groups received a mix of > geranium oil and > mineral oil (at ratios of 1 to 1 and 1 to 10), and a > fourth group > received only mineral oil. > > All of the subjects who received any amount of > geranium oil > reported pain reduction, and those who received > treatments > containing 100 percent geranium oil experienced the > greatest pain > relief. Little or no relief was reported by the > placebo group. Some > subjects experienced a slight irritation from the > geranium oil, but > these irritations subsided within an hour or so. > > Dr. Spreen tells me that he's never heard of using > geranium oil to > address shingles, but says, " I like the idea of > anything topical and > non-toxic. If there's anything to it, washing the > area first with a > non-chemical soap, then applying some DMSO before > the > geranium oil would cause it to absorb deeper into > the area (though > there's a garlicky taste to put up with for > awhile). " > > ------ > > Getting needled > ------ > > In addition to Dr. Spreen's vitamin regimen and > applications of > geranium oil, Margi might give acupuncture a try. > > In the e-Alert " 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall... " > (4/26/04), I told > you about an e-mail I received from an HSI member > named > Jacqueline who wrote: " Recently, I suffered a severe > attack of > shingles and my acupuncturist eliminated the virus > in a matter of > about three weeks, whereas I have a friend who is > still suffering > from this very unpleasant condition after two years > of conventional > treatment. " > > Conventional treatment for shingles is limited to > anti-viral > medications that sometimes take days to work, and > often don't > work at all. And while Margi and others may find > pain relief and > faster healing through Dr. Spreen's vitamin regimen > or by using > geranium oil, they should talk to their doctor or > naturopathic > healthcare professional before beginning any natural > or over-the- > counter treatments. > > ************************************************************** > > ...and another thing > > " Think globally. Act locally. " goes the old > grassroots activist > adage. But we may have a situation where acting > locally AND > globally will be needed to produce results. > > In recent e-Alerts I told you about the European > Union (EU) > Directive on Dietary Supplements that will > reclassify vitamin > supplements as medical drugs, mandate low dosage > levels, and > outlaw many supplement ingredients that are > currently widely > available. In the e-Alert " Twilight's Last > Gleaming? " (7/13/04), I > suggested that HSI members in the U.S. write their > congressmen > and let them know that we don't need international > organizations > to " protect " us from our personal health care > choices. > > But there's more you can do, wherever you live. > > Responding to this issue, an HSI member named Isobel > who lives > in the UK posted this message on the HSI Forum: > " This is not just > a European issue, it is a worldwide issue. > Consumers, practitioners, > innovative manufacturers, distributors and anyone > who takes > quality supplements need to firstly familiarise > themselves with all > the information on www.alliance-natural-health.org > (Alliance for > Natural Health) and then they need to join as > Members (free) or > better still donate on the web and become a Partner. > They then > need to tell as many others as they can about what > is going on here > – PLEASE before it is too late. " > > You can clearly sense the desperation in Isobel's > message. And I > don't blame her. I'd be feeling the same if I lived > in a EU country > right now. But if this threat to dietary supplements > and alternative > health care isn't stopped in the European Union, we > can expect the > initiatives of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and > other > international organizations to apply their > restrictive regulations in > the U.S. and elsewhere. > > The officials of these organizations are thinking > globally and > acting globally. They have patience, unlimited > funding, and > political power on their side. But like Goliath, > they assume there's > no way they can lose. > > Time for David to step up. > > To Your Good Health, > > Jenny Thompson > Health Sciences Institute > > ************************************************************ > > To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, > visit: > http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopya.html > Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can > sign-up to > receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert. > > ************************************************************** > > Sources: > " Temporary Relief of Postherpetic Neuralgia Pain > with Topical > Geranium Oil " The American Journal of Medicine " Vol. > 115, No. > 7, November 2003, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov > " Geranium Oil Effective for Post-Shingles Pain " > Darin Ingels, > N.D., Healthnotes Newswire, 12/18/03, > pccnaturalmarkets.com > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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