My mind was wondering as I drove home from dropping Sam at school this morning and it decided that maybe a record of what I had used to help Sam with his shingles might be a good idea. It might be useful to any of you who have an experience of shingles (either yourself or with a child) and it might prove a useful aide memoir to me if we ever have a return of the spots here! I can't guarantee that any of these products will work for you and would still recommend you visit your GP but just in case you are looking for something else to try - here is what worked with Sam....
At the stage where we thought it was just insect bites we started using old fashioned calamine lotion and kids paracetamol, which sort of did the trick for a while. Once we knew it was shingles I started dosing Sam with some homeopathic remedies that I already had to hand...
Rhus tox is useful for treating chickenpox and for itchy skin conditions (I tried it when I had my allergic reaction to antibiotics) and Hypericum is indicated for conditions associated with the nerves. I only keep a few remedies at home and generally consult a homeopath for anything more complicated than bumps and bruises so it was a lucky coincidence that I had these two at home when they were needed. I know that homeopathy is a topic that divides people like no other but I have seen a lot of success from using the remedies both in myself and my children and I don't really care if it is only a placebo - if it works why argue with it?
The two things that Sam found most soothing on the spots when they were itchy were a drop of lavender oil gently rubbed into the skin (he loves the smell of this too and it helped him sleep at night!) and the wonder ointment from Australia which Lesley kindly sent me for my itches last year. If you can get hold of any of Lucas' Papaw ointment I can heartily recommend it for any itchy or sore patches ( or if you read the tube just about anything really!)
To soothe grumpy, tired and clingy children a few drops of rescue remedy cannot be beaten - and they do the trick for grumpy, tired and fed up mums too!
The final find is the true star of the piece although it may have been helped by all the other products too. As my husband was away with work while Sam was ill I was stuck at home and unable to get to our nearest health food store ( a good half an hours drive away) so I only started using this on Sam almost a week after he first showed symptoms. I was amazed though that with only three applications of the Hypericum oil to his back he stopped complaining of itching and the awful nerve pain which he had been experiencing had all but disappeared. I had never heard of this particular remedy but was happy to try it when the herbalist in the shop said they had had a lot of success using it with shingles. I simply rubbed about 5ml of the oil on to Sam's skin - they suggested 3-4 times a day and the results were almost instant.
I hope that some of these suggestions might be interesting or helpful , I know I am going to keep some of these treatments in my medical cupboard just in case. ' Real' work tomorrow but I will be back later in the week with some photos of the beautiful walk we enjoyed on Mother's day....
