Lemon Balm Review: Shingles Relief Products

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How Can You Best Care for the Symptoms of Shingles?

If you've had shingles, or know someone who has, you know that the pain can be unbearable and the lesions hideous. Shingles is a viral infection that can occur anywhere on the body, and causes an intense, painful rash. Oftentimes it looks like a stripe of blisters that wraps around the side of your torso. The bottom line is, you want relief, and you want it now.

Increasingly, people are opting for natural, over-the-counter products in order to avoid costly prescription drugs with undesirable side effects. These options are typically in the form of supplements or topical creams. The supplements are taken a few times a day in order to keep the harsher symptoms at bay. The topical creams and gels provide cooling to the burning lesions as well as penetrate deep into the skin's surface to alleviate the nerve pain.

Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox: varicella-zoster virus. If you've had chicken pox, that virus stays in your body for the rest of your life. Later on in life, it can reactivate as shingles. The painful rashes can occur anywhere on your body, even on the face or near your eyes.

Mayo Clinic says that early detection may shorten the infection and lessen the chance of complications, such as shingles pain for an extended period after the blisters have cleared. Shingles seems to be more common in older adults with weakened immune systems, whether due to cancer, medications, or chronic illness.

Suggestions for avoiding shingles or to lessen the severity of the symptoms are to get the shingles vaccine, which is recommended for those over 50. You should also maintain a healthy immune system by eating right, exercising, and avoiding stress. If you do find symptoms, seek early healing and steer clear of people who haven't had chicken pox, as they might end up getting that from you.

The supplements are taken a few times a day in order to keep the harsher symptoms at bay and start the healing process. The topical creams and gels provide cooling to the burning lesions as well as penetrate deep into the skin's surface to alleviate the nerve pain.

When considering which over-the-counter product to purchase for shingles relief, here are some important points to consider:

• Supplements or creams. Do you want your product to work from the inside out (supplements) or outside in (creams)? If you choose supplements, are you the type of person to remember to take them a few times a day for best results, or will you probably forget? Would you prefer all natural ingredients?
• Dosage. How long will a bottle of supplements or a tube of cream last? Will you have to be prepared to reorder each month? How many times a day is the recommended dose for supplements? Are you allowed to take the cream as often as needed, or are you restricted to a certain number of times per day? If the area of affected skin is a large one, is there enough cream in the tube to last a long time?
• Side effects. Are there any known side effects for the supplements or for the creams? If so, what are they, and when will you notice? Is this product safe for people of all ages and if you're pregnant or nursing?
• Cost. How much will your supplements or creams cost per month? Since shingles can last months or longer, is it in your budget to repurchase this product on a regular basis? Since some creams come in smaller packaging and some larger, how long will your tube of cream last? Is it shelf-stable enough for a possible long duration of shingles symptoms if you decide to buy in multi-packs?

Top Consumer Reviews has reviewed and ranked the best shingles relief supplements and topical creams available today to help you choose the one that offers the best results and has a fair price tag. We're confident that this information will get you on the road to recovery with relief from shingles.