I didn't think about his shingles very much until (1) I picked up a Virology text at a library sale, and learned a little of Zoster, the medical name for Shingles. (2) My Father was dying at age 71 not only of cancer, but of Zoster, which had turned half the skin of his arms to enormous, bruised reddish -purple blotches. I learned from my book that the disease begins to break down the capillaries under the skin, until the skin cannot breathe for the organism.

Because another family member has begun to exhibit blotches which are similar, I began to explore healthful alternative medicines on the Internet, to find that advances in Virology studies have proven that Zoster is actually internalized Chicken Pox (something my 1978 Virology text did not tell me) and that the pox virus lodges in the spine, surfacing as enormous yellow blisters, sometimes all over the skin. I also found that there is now an experimental immunization clinic hoping to prevent zoster, involving people over sixty- more later.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/shingles_doc.htm

 http://www.itm.etat.lu/legisnat/cd_99/1206/1206.pdf

"The virus remains latent in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord after the initial attack of chicken pox. The disease occurs most frequently in people over the age of 50. It may be activated through such factors as trauma to the spinal cord and its roots through surgery or X-ray therapy. Shingles is characterized by pain along an affected nerve and its branches and the eruption of blisters over skin areas supplied by the nerve."

The above quotation is from an article, worth reading in its entirety, made by an MD,Doctor David L. Hoffmann, B.Sc. (Hons) M.N.I.N.H.    .This Doctor recommends alternative treatments for Shingles which are herbal - Oat Straw (from the Oat Grass) Scullcap, Peppermint , St. Johns' Wort ,Echinacea and Artemisia vulgaris. 

Please read this (as linked below)  if you are serious about reading the rest of this article.

 Mentha piperita oil applied topically may reduce the pain through a mild local numbing effect. Do not attempt this if the skin is extremely sensitive.

Colloidal oatmeal powder may be dusted on the effected skin to act as a dry lubricant, hopefully reducing pain from contact with clothes.

Actions supplied by this combination : Nervines Tonic (Avena sativa, Hypericum perforatum) Nervines Relaxant (Hypericum perforatum, Scutellaria laterifolia, Artemisia vulgaris) Anti-inflammatory (Hypericum perforatum) Anti-spasmodic (Hypericum perforatum, Scutellaria laterifolia) Anti-microbial (Hypericum perforatum, Echinacea spp.) "

If you have read the above prescription concept, you can see that Oatmeal powder can, of course, calm down your skin. Most of us know about washing in a bath with Oatmeal tied into a bag for a mild but cleansing soap - but when diabolical suffering occurs we will most often go for prescription drugs and expensive skin salves. I say: USE BOTH!! Having been too broke to do anything else but to use oats as a soap, I can testify to the healing and calming effect of oatmeal, both as an internally cleansing food and as a cleanser for the irritated skin. There is no sense in not using common sense as well as your Doctors' advice.

http://www.dragonalley.net/files/HERBS__AND_THEIR_MAGICAL_USES.htm 

http://www.raremaps.de/botanicalsregnault2.html

Every Body Must Get Stoned!

  Oats in a legal smoke called "Dreamsmoke"

" It is very difficult for this herb to shake the mistaken lore that it's name is derived from being shaped like a human skull. The proper spelling is Scullcap, not Skullcap." Actually, I asked a Pharmaceutical experts site spokesperson, and the opinion was that the herb is actually spelled Skullcap. So, when researching, type in both spelings to be thorough.

 "In "A Modern Herbal" Grieve maintains it's name comes from the Latin "Scutella", which means "little dish", a form the lid of the calyx of it's flower is shaped like."

http://www.gnc.com/health_notes/Herb/Scullcap_American.htm  

If you are looking for health information and the use of Scullcap (spelled Skullcap in some texts) the "stoned head" approach need not apply. I usually rely on Erowid for interesting details about hallucinogens and narcotics, but they are accepting letters from the public which may only be of use or interest to research scientists or MDs. Kids, don't try this at home! I have added the links to two letters about their Scullcap concoctions,but there seems to be no purpose or definition to their ideas for remedies, so -caveat emptor (latin, means consumer beware).

info from erowid.com

http://www.erowid.org/cgi-bin/search/htsearch.cgi

 recipe with Scullcap and Cannabis  http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=8122  

ethnobotanical experience . This essay is a little more concerned.http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php (? ID= 24744)   

google images and uses/scullcap 

  http://www.herbs2stopsmoking.com/herbdesc/2skullca.htm  medicine or chemical: scutellarin, a "calmative"

exceptional images:

 Scutellaria lateriflora grows in eastern North America and is most commonly used in United States and European herbal products containing scullcap. The above-ground (aerial) part of the plant is used in herbal preparations. It is not interchangeable with Chinese scullcap.

   Scullcap was used historically as a sedative for people with nervous tension and insomnia. It was, and continues to be, commonly combined with valerian for insomnia, also as a remedy for epilepsy and nerve pain.

 Use of scullcap in the amounts listed above is generally safe. However, scullcap use during pregnancy and breast-feeding should be avoided due to limited information about its safety. Cases of liver damage have been reported in association with the intake of scullcap. when the herb product contains Germander(Teucrium chamaedrys).

  One of this sites' references is a textual work by Hoffmann. For more referenced details, and an image of American Scullcap, look up the site.

Ref: Hoffman D. The Herbal Handbook: A User’s Guide to Medical Herbalism.

If you are lucky enough to find real Peppermint, you can strike it easily by setting a couple of the stems into clear water,which will root the stems in a week or so. This can go straight into the earth and will take off at first through runners creeping along the ground, which grow to adulthood within the growing season.

 Peppermint is a hybrid of water mint and spearmint (I didn't know that!) and was first cultivated near London in 1750. The two main cultivated forms are the black mint, which has violet-colored leaves and stems and a relatively high oil content, and the white mint, which has pure green leaves and a milder taste.

  Peppermint tea (usually the dried leaf) is regarded as a stimulant,some relief for flatulence or nausea, and has antiseptic properties.

"It is used in treating indigestion, sore throats, colds and toothache, among others. Peppermint is a powerful diffusive stimulant, antispasmodic, carminative, stomachic, and weak anodyne. It undoubtedly possesses marked antiseptic properties. Peppermint tea is used also for palpitation of the heart. Boiled in milk and drunk hot Peppermint herb is good for abdominal pains. "

It is also recommended as an interesting smoking herb .

Peppermint Essential Oil Aromatherapy has been available for some years, and is worth keeping in stock as a household word. I made a marvellous tooth cleaner with it for nearly five years, and I have successfully killed all bone or tendonitis pain with its pure essence.

Aromatherapy is not a sub for medical diagnosis or treatment. If you have a health condition, consult your physician. If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, consult your doctor before using any aromatherapy products.

 "Peppermint has been used in healing and purification spells, believed to raise the vibrations of an area. To this end, it was rubbed against furniture, walls and floorboards. It was used in pillows to promote sleep, and was believed to make the dreams pre-cognitive. It was also believed to be useful in mixtures for love spells ."

http://www.earthbow.com/herbs/herb_index/peppermint.htm

Mentha piperita Chocolate Mint great images- sweets and tea manufacturer.

http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/menpiperitachocolate.htm  

 Botanical Arthttp://www.botanic-art.com/Peppermint.htm 

Herb reference and service for homeopaths, herbalists, or other researchers... Join and research constituents: registered users.

 Echinacea links page resource:lots of info

Black Sampson. Coneflower. Niggerhead. Rudbeckia. Brauneria pallida (Nutt.).

The plant was named Echinacea by Linnaeus, and the name Rudbeckia, after Rudbeck, father and son, who were his predecessors at Upsala. The flowers are an almost cyclamen pink, and the florets are seated round a high cone.

"Echinacea increases bodily resistance to infection and is used for boils, erysipelas, septicaemia, cancer, syphilis and other impurities of the blood, its action being antiseptic . It has also useful properties as a strong alterative and aphrodisiac. As an injection, the extract has been used for haemorrhoids and a tincture of the fresh root has been found beneficial in diphtheria and putrid fevers."

 Echinacea purpurea has similar properties to E. angustifolia; the fresh root of this is the part used.

Grieves:http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/echina01.html

  Echinacea spp.

Blue skies up above, everyones in love, look up a heteroxylan in your polysaccharide spare time, and watch the skies above move through the plants' daytime...

 Finding an article like the work offered by David Hoffmann to be solidly full of scientific information, it is not easy to pretend to synopsize all of the material as it is listed.

Relevant material offered was something I felt was quite new, and that is that Echinacea disposes of hyaluronidase, a chemical I know to be part of the composition of insects' and snakes stings....

Since I dislike the snowballing irritation of insect sting, I was delighted to discover that polysaccharides in Echinacea help to regenerate tissue destroyed by hyaluronidase. Some insects' or snakes' stings will make the flesh actually necrotic (that is, gangrenous and dead).

The following is Dr. Hoffmannns' statement in part, although I urge you to connect to his well-to do article on the subject:

"The tincture was able to reduce both the rate of growth and the rate of reproduction of Trichomonas vaginalis, and was found to be effective in halting the recurrence of Candida albicans infection. It seems to prevent infection and repair tissue damaged by infection, partially through inhibiting the activity of the enzyme hyaluronidase.

The hyaluronidase system is a primary defense mechanism, involving connective "ground" substance, or hyaluronic acid, acting as a barrier against pathogenic organisms. Some pathogens activate an enzyme, hyaluronidase, which once activated destroys the integrity of the ground substance. This causes the barrier to become leaky, allowing pathogens to invade, attach themselves to exposed cells, penetrate the membrane and kill the cell. The result as an inflammatory infection. Echinacea inhibits the action of hyaluronidase by bonding with it in some way, resulting in a temporary increase in the integrity of the barrier. ... A range of constituents mediate this process, especially a complex polysaccharide called echinacin B. This anti-hyaluronidase action is involved in regeneration of connective tissue destroyed during infection and.."

Read on..

Article on Echinacea © David L. HoffmannB.Sc.(Hons), M.N.I.M.H. below:

In the early days, people used this plant commonly as a substitute for tea, since tea was expensive at the time.

strongly warms reproductive system function.

weakly warms cardiovascular system function.

weakly warms lower GI activity.

weakly warms mucosal activity.

 weakly warms skin activity.  Herb weakly cools adrenal stress. 

 weakly cools anabolic stress. 

 weakly cools renal activity.

weakly cools upper GI activity.

Now you know.

"Ozone is blatantly non-toxic. There is no evidence of free radical damage; in fact, ozone is the best free radical scavenger there is.

Ozone also stimulates production of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, which are the enzymes in the cell wall which protect the cell from free radical damage, so ozone actually helps prevent free radical damage. Dr. Horst Kief of Germany recommends taking Vitamin Aand Vitamin E supplements when receiving ozone treatments. "

Ozone can be bubbled through Olive Oil, which produces a gel that is safe for skin disorders and irritations- one of them Herpes.There are hundreds of applications using Ozone Equipment and medicinal techniques, none of which has been proven to be harmful in the treatment of various conditions. Bubbling Ozone through Olive Oil makes the gas breathable, and this is used for people with asthma, as it is clarified through the oil. The oil changes colour and becomes the useful gel, also considered excellent as a vaginal lubricant.The sites' info is well worth exploring as a concept potentially in conjunction with other natural remedies.