June 8, 2023 general

Terrifying TV commercials for the shingles vaccine does a terrific job of creating panic about what it would be like to suffer with the condition. They aren’t exaggerating assuming nothing is done to prevent or treat shingles. The vaccine maker, of course, wants you to ask for their vaccine, Shingrix. That is a legitimate option, but to be an informed consumer, there is more you should know.

• Even though vaccinated, you may still get shingles. (Remember we learned that covid vaccines didn’t always prevent infection? The manufacturer says the disease will at least be milder.)
• As with any pathogen, the key for prevention and healing is the strength of your immune function. So, that makes a healthful diet, basic nutritional supplements (especially C, D and zinc), and probiotics very important.
• As you may know, a virus, varicella-zoster virus (VZV), causes shingles. VZV also causes chicken pox (usually in children) but long after recovery, hangs around dormant in sensory nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. Once re-activated, the virus travels down a single nerve and causes the a painful rash in a localized area. The risk of reactivation increases after age 50 because the immune system has weakened. There have been many reports of shingles occurring after the covid vaccines.
• The vaccine, it does not appear to contain heavy metals such as mercury but it does list polysorbate 80 to which many people are severely allergic. One ingredient, MSG, which neurosurgeon Richard Blaylock, MD told us is an excitotoxin that negatively affects the brain. It is also a bit of a concern to me that it contains a live (but supposedly weakened) virus. Side effects reported are typically mild such as injection site pain.
• Your doctor can prescribe antiviral medications and, the sooner the better.
• Foods high in the amino acid l-arginine (e.g. nuts, chocolate, seafood, arginine supplements) may feed the VZV virus but meanwhile foods rich in the amino l-lysine (meat, cheese, eggs) and lysine supplements may slow it down.

There are natural remedies to help. Read my article that includes info about my extremely brief experience with shingles.