Itchy, Scratchy, Grumpy & Bumpy

Homeopathic support for shingles...

Shingles is an illness that strikes much dread into people. As well as being ill for about 3 to 5 weeks, the post-viral symptoms are infamously painful and feared. However, as with any imbalance or dis-ease in the body, homeopathic remedies are very useful for helping to ease symptoms, speed healing, and promote thorough healing with less lingering issues. 

Shingles comes and causes dread
Rash with bumps painful and red
Feeling sick like you’ve the flu
Sensitive skin is with you too
Itching, tingling, ill at ease
Help get through with remedies

Shingles, also called herpes zoster, is a condition that is caused by the ‘re-activation’ of the virus that causes chicken pox, the varicella-zoster virus. After a person has recovered from chicken pox, the virus that causes it lies dormant in nerve cells near the spinal cord, or sometimes in the trigeminal nerve in the face. The virus can lay dormant there for years, or forever, never becoming re-activated. If it does re-activate, it causes the condition known as shingles.

One of the most distinctive features of shingles is that the rash appears in a stripe pattern or a cluster. This is because typically only one nerve root is active in a shingles illness and so the rash appears only on the skin area enervated by that nerve root. 

As with most illnesses, shingles doesn’t appear as a uniform set of symptoms, but rather progresses as a disease process through various stages. In homeopathy, we treat the evolving symptom picture, not the disease. As the symptoms change and progress through the various stages of the illness, so do the prescribed remedies. It is a constant rebalancing (mirroring), an evolving of the approach to address the current presentation of imbalance in the body. Imagine you’re on a boat in a storm and you’re taking a hard-boiled egg to the hungry captain. As the boat rocks from storm waves the egg rolls around on the dish. If you want to keep the egg from falling, you need to constantly adjust to maintain that balance and keep the egg still (maintain equilibrium). This is like the approach of choosing remedies – you need to adjust the remedies as the symptoms shift and fluctuate throughout the course of an illness.

There are some homeopathic remedies that are often helpful in the various stages of shingles, but remember that at its core homeopathy is individualised medicine, so there may be other remedies that are a better match for your unique expression of symptoms. If in doubt, it’s best to consult a homeopath, as they can help you work your way through this. However, here are some of the most common remedies that may be useful.

Prodromal Stage 

This is the earliest stage of shingles. It is the stage before the rash erupts, when the symptoms might be vague and you’re not sure what’s happening or where the symptoms are leading yet. Indistinct pain and tingling on one area of the skin is often a feature of this stage. Burning, itching, and increased skin sensitivity can also occur. General flu-like symptoms are often present, such as headache, low-grade fever, fatigue, chills, and possibly a general feeling of unwellness or ‘coming down with something’. Notably, there is rarely a cough or sore throat.

Remedies helpful in this stage include:

Ferrum Phos – This remedy is a go-to for many homeopaths in the very earliest stages of illness, before symptoms are developed enough to be able to identify clearly and find modalities for. It’s helpful for the general inflammatory stage of any illness. A flushed look is often a key indicator of this remedy. This remedy is one of the tissue salt remedies and is often used in very low potencies to help the body move through the earliest stages of ailments with more ease.

Gelsemium – This is one of the most common flu remedies, and if the early symptoms of shingles match a general flu-like state, then it might be helpful. A feeling of malaise and low energy as well as chills and headache with or without fever are prominent. A heavy feeling predominates - in the limbs, the body, and the eyes, causing the person to keep their eyelids at ‘half-mast’. 

Arsenicum Album – Useful in burning pains and many flu-like symptoms. Weakness, chilliness, and restlessness are key features of this remedy. If any of these are present along with burning pains in the skin, we can think of Arsenicum. Another feature of this remedy is anxiety, especially about one’s health, so look for a disproportionate amount of anxiety as a clue that this remedy might be useful.

Eruptive (Rash) Stage

This is the stage where the shingles rash presents itself, and often provides new symptoms upon which to base homeopathic remedy choices. The typical shingles rash shows up as fluid-filled blisters with redness of the skin at the base. Often a generic red rash precedes the actual blister formation. The key distinguishing feature of a shingles rash is its presence along a single dermatome, therefore rarely crossing the midline of the body. A dermatome is the area of skin enervated by a single nerve root coming off the spinal cord. There are many dermatome maps available online to help discern if a rash follows this pattern. 

In this stage, the affected nerves are particularly activated, so pain and itching in the rash area might be significant. The rash phase usually lasts about 2 to 4 weeks, moving from first appearance, through to blistering, and proceeding to the sores crusting over and scabbing as they heal. 

Remedies helpful in this stage include:

Rhus Tox – The characteristic restlessness of this remedy gives a clue to choosing it, with the sufferer fidgeting and adjusting position, or even tossing and turning or pacing to deal with the discomfort. People who need Rhus Tox in illness have a characteristic pattern of being tired due to their ailment, so wanting to rest, but pain quickly mounting when they remain still, so they begin moving to relieve the discomfort, finding a new position to settle in and try to get some rest, but the relief doesn’t last, prompting movement again, etc. These patients are typically cold during their illness, enjoying relief from warmth. The rash may be extremely itchy. The blisters characteristically look like “small jellies on red plates” (Norland, Get Well Soon). One symptom that is often confirmatory for Rhus Tox is that the triangular tip of the tongue is red, and possibly sore. There may also be muscle and body aches, impelling the ill person to stretch a lot.

Ranunculus Bulbus – The blisters appear blue in colour, often accompanied by burning, shooting pains and intense itching. A bruised feeling is characteristic of this remedy, often felt all over the body. Stretching and moving about can make the patient feel worse. These people are sensitive to the air and sensitive to touch; even the slightest contact can make the pain and itching of the rash worse.

Mezereum – In this remedy, a key feature is burning pains, usually felt deeper under the skin with violent itching felt on the surface of the skin. If the itchy area is scratched, the itch moves to a different place. Formication, or the feeling of insects crawling on or under the skin, can occur around the rash area. The person will likely feel chilly overall and very sensitive to cold air and want to be covered up, but the rash area might feel itchier after a warm bath or if it gets heated. The itching of the eruption is often most bothersome at night. You might see a low, depressed mood with the illness. 

Mercurius – If the skin lesions have an ulcerative quality to them, perhaps around the base of the blisters, or after they burst and begin to scab over, Mercurius should be considered. The skin may also have a yellowish tint to it. The person needing this remedy will suffer from extremes of temperature, and may complain often about it being too hot or too cold. The rash will likely be very itchy, and the itch will increase at night or if the person gets too hot or too cold. The person may feel worse with the general symptoms of the illness in the evening and nighttime. Unpleasant odors are a feature of this remedy, so symptoms such as bad breath, or unpleasant smelling sweat, or even the discharge from the blisters having an odor point to Mercurius. Swollen glands are also prominent in this remedy’s picture.

Iris Versicolor – If the person is experiencing gastric symptoms with shingles, this remedy can be very useful. Burning pains in the stomach and abdomen are common, along with vomiting and possibly diarrhea. The digestive system’s discharges may smell sour. A headache often accompanies the digestive symptoms. Notably, this remedy is more often useful if the shingles rash is on the right side of the body.

Post-herpetic Neuralgia Stage

The large majority of people who get shingles do not experience post-herpetic neuralgia; however, for the approximately 10-20% who do, there are some remedies that can help. Post-herpetic neuralgia is a condition that sometimes follows the resolution of the shingles rash and associated illness symptoms. It is nerve pain in the general area where the shingles rash occurred, that happens when the nerve fibres affected by shingles continue to send pain signals to the brain after the illness resolves. It can lead to discomfort, sensitivity, and even debilitating pain. It can present with many different sensations, including tingling, ‘pins and needles’ feeling, stabbing, burning, throbbing, shooting, electric zapping sensations, and more. There can also be a general sensitiveness of the area, so the person has a heightened awareness of it, or feels discomfort when it’s touched, even lightly. Rarely, there can be muscular weakness in the surrounding area also.

While this condition is well known, and can be debilitating for some, homeopathic remedies can often help to ease the symptoms and bring a person through this stage more quickly. 

Remedies helpful in this stage include:

Secale – Sensations of numbness, tingling or formication may be prominent. Pains are often burning in nature, and made worse by heat. The pain is sometimes described as though sparks from a fire are falling on the skin, causing sudden burning pain in small spots here and there. Muscle twitching may be seen. Rubbing the area, cool applications and uncovering, fanning, and stretching the area often provide relief.

Arsenicum Album – The person needing this remedy for their post-herpetic neuralgia will likely be restless as a response to their pain. For example, when the pain is rising they may begin to pace or do ‘busy work’ or go for a walk, or even just fidget in place. They are also likely to display anxiety with this condition, often focused on their health and worries about recovery. Burning pains predominate in this remedy, and can take on a variety of different sensations, including feeling like there are hot wires under their skin or they are being poked with hot needles. The person may feel chilly overall, and the pains may be eased by local heat.

Causticum – A well-known nerve remedy, Causticum pains can feel raw, burning, tearing, and sore, along with other sensations. The pains are often worsened when the area is touched or lain on. Localized muscle weakness from nerve problems is a feature of this remedy. 

Variolinum – This remedy was reportedly used by renowned homeopath from the 1800s, James Compton Burnett, as his chief remedy in shingles, including the post-herpetic neuralgia stage. A persistent backache is a feature of this remedy, and aching in the occiput or legs may also be strong. The neuralgic pain is often formicating, feeling like bugs are crawling under the skin. There is a ‘crazy feeling’ in the brain sometimes described by people who benefit from this remedy.

While homeopathy is a wonderful support during shingles or any illness, it is important to seek medical attention if the shingles rash erupts on the face, as further complications can be serious and require ongoing monitoring. It is also a good idea to see a professional homeopath if any of your shingles symptoms are very strong or don’t progress towards healing as the rash begins to heal. Post-herpetic neuralgia can be tricky to treat sometimes, so if it doesn’t seem to be resolving with remedies, seeing a professional homeopath is advised and can be very helpful as they can look at your case from a deeper, constitutional lens.