Shingles aka Herpes Zoster are not fun. They itch, they sting, they hurt and sometimes will even send electrical like jolts through your body. To describe shingles as painful and annoying is putting it lightly. Very lightly…

I was lucky to treat the shingles rash immediately at the onset of the horrible itching. It was the abnormal non stop itching that was my first clue that I had shingles… 

I immediately got out my Trader Joes “Tree Oil soap” (since it dries out anything and shingles blisters NEED to dry out). I washed the 3 little blisters (they popped out immediately) multiple times a day with the soap. At that point it was itch city. And, they were starting to be painful…

Now, I also keep “Tree Oil pads” in the house (by Desert Essence)  because they are great for poison ivy etc. The pads along with the Tree Oil soap in my opinion are a medicine cabinet must for me. So, whenever I itched I just rubbed the pads over the blistered area to sooth and dry at the same time. I did NOT cover the blisters as I needed them to dry out asap. (Also, seeping a bag of chamomile tea, cooling it and applying it to the shingles blisters helped as well).  

Next steps at the onset of the itching: 

1. I doubled my daily dosage of Vitamin D
2. I doubled my daily Probiotic
3. I took Vitamin C

Now comes the most important daily routine:

TAGAMET (CIMETIDINE) 

(1 tab  (200mg) 3x per day. 2 tabs (400mg) before bedtime)

I had read that Cimetidine (Tagamet), commonly used for treating acid reflux, had been shown to reduce the severity and duration of both shingles and herpes outbreaks. I bought the Cimetidine at Walmart for I think 3 dollars or so. A THREE DOLLAR cure with only a 7 day duration? Yes.

I never got the electrical shocks sometimes associated with shingles, or the excruciating pain. And I NEVER had more than three blisters pop out. 

All I can say is this: the above directions worked wonders for me. The shingles were completely gone in 7 days, but I took the Cimetidine (Tagamet) for 10 days just because…

However, every now and then, (in the same area that the shingles blisters were), out of the clear blue, I will itch for a day or two. I guess it’s not that unusual since I’ve talked to shingles survivors who have experienced the same annoying thing. Weird but nothing a good back scratcher can’t cure 😁

Interesting Reads:

LIFE EXTENSION: Very Informative Article On Shingles That Also References Tagamet /  Cimetidine As A Treatment Option…