Any postherpetic neuralgia treatment absolutely must be able to reduce chronic inflammation to achieve complete shingles pain relief. Natural treatments offer true healing, in contrast with synthetic steroids and NSAIDS. One of the most surprising and most promising natural products for shingles pain treatment is emu oil.

Modern scientific research is just now starting to catch up with this old folk medicine.

What Is Emu Oil?

Emu oil is an oil made from the fat of the emu, a large bird native to Australia. This oil has been used historically by the Australian aborigines for the treatment of burns, wounds, bruises, and as a pain reliever for bone, muscle, and joint disorders. Modern uses also include relief from arthritis, eczema, psoriasis, sunburn, burns from radiation therapy, sports injuries, and itching and swelling of insect bites and stings. It is non-toxic in topical applications as well as in oral supplements. Emu oil absorbs readily without clogging pores and is non-irritating and hypo-allergenic. On a personal note, I have used it to literally save my face from many years of abuse by commercial aftershaves. Emu oil is the only aftershave application that I have ever found that soothes and heals.

Emu oil is approximately 70% unsaturated fatty acids, which rivals the composition of any seed oil. The largest component is oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated omega-9 fatty acid. Emu oil also contains about 20% linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid) and 1-2% linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid).

Scientific Research On Emu Oil

Very little research on emu oil is available in the scientific literature. Nevertheless, its potential for use in skincare has been documented in the following study, published in 1998 in the journal, Inflammopharmacology (Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 1-8): Emu oil(s): a source of non-toxic transdermal anti-inflammatory agents in aboriginal medicine. (Written by MW Whitehouse, AG Turner, CK Davis, and MS Roberts at the Department of Medicine, University of Queensland.)

This study used rats that were chemically induced to have arthritis. Emu oil was applied topically, and various measures of inflammation were recorded. One of the more important aspects of this study included a comparison of different commercial products. Conclusions and observations included the following:

1) Emu oil can be a very effective inhibitor of chronic inflammation when applied topically with a skin-penetrating enhancer.
2) Different commercial oil samples showed considerable variability in potency.
3) There was little or no correlation of activity with color or linolenic acid content of the oil.
4) Some active oils were stable to heat and to aging at room temperature.
5) The bulk of the anti-inflammatory activity was present in a low triglyceride fraction.
6) Active fractions showed potential arthritis-suppressant/immunoregulant activity.
7) Repeated applications of selected oils did not induce any of the more prominent side effects associated with NSAIDs (e.g. platelet inhibition, gastrotoxicity) or certain anti-arthritic drugs (proteinuria, leukopenia).

What To Expect For Postherpetic Neuralgia Treatment

The above study represents groundwork for showing how good emu oil is against chronic inflammation. I can tell you this, though: An experiment on its effectiveness specifically against postherpetic neuralgia will probably never happen. It is just not very important to modern medical researchers, and research funding will undoubtedly never be available for such a study. I hope the future proves me wrong, although I do not believe it will.

Nevertheless, here is what I know. My own shingles pain treatment was successful because I did, indeed, use emu oil on my outbreak every day. The period that I endured postherpetic neuralgia was cut short, lasting no more than about 8 days. A data point of one (me) is not a scientific experiment. I do not know how long my pain would have lasted without the use of emu oil. Shingles pain has been documented to sometimes last for years. All I know for sure is that, based on research, emu oil helped me battle the inflammation from my painful shingles outbreak.

In the end, in my opinion, emu oil should be an important component in your anti-shingles arsenal. Just be sure to get a top product that contains only pure emu oil and no additives whatsoever.

All the best in shingles natural treatment,

Dr. D

Some of the bigger problems with shingles includes the ability of Herpes zoster to infect nontypical areas of the body rather than the around the trunk. There is no limit on where it can appear. One area that is unfortunately all to common is the eyes. In fact, a special subcategory of herpes zoster has been designated for this type of outbreak. Don’t fancy new names just make you feel better?

This case at humanvision.info shows what can happen: Bleeding eye after Shingles

Two and a half years ago, a relative had shingles next to her left eye, followed by neuralgia. Eye treatment was started immediately together with shingles treatment. That eye never recovered and Herpes Zoster Vasculitis has been … READ MORE

If you happen to have experience with this condition, please send a comment to the writer of that entry. Information exchange can be of great benefit.

All the best in natural health,

Dr. D

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All the best in natural health,

Dr. D