I am a 32 year old woman who has just a 5th attack of shingles, always in exactly the same place and again on my bottom. I have seen several GP's over the time of these attacks and have had a different response every time... I was originally told that there was nothing I could do to treat the rash ( which I have since found out is not the case if its treated within the first 72 hours) then told that it [b:ea74731f5d]couldn't[/b:ea74731f5d] be shingles as its recurred- that it must be herpes and perhaps I caught it at the gym, (I've had a full sexual health check and do not carry the herpes virus in my blood) I've finally been told it IS shingles and given aclivor tablets as treatment, which I must say if you take straight away minimises the length and severity of the attack....

I understand that shingles virus is from the same family as the herpes/coldsore virus but it seems it causes are very different and the concerning thing for me is that this lack of understanding from many medical professionals puts one at risk of long term nerve damage. I have had bad nerve pain down my leg which I was sure was related to the shingles but again I was fobbed off by my GP who made me feel like a total hypochondriac.

Last time I got an extra load of antiviral medication - Aclivor in case i had another attack and so I was able to take it straight away ( I do find it makes me feel rather dehydrated but I definitely think its helping)

I have treated myself with B vitamins ( for the nervous system) and have recently seen a chiropractor who has relieved a lot of the pain I was becoming used to. (although when I asked him if he thought the treatment could have a connection with my latest bought he said no although he did admit a relation between the rash and the nerves, so i still feel there is some connection... ( he also said he couldn't treat me as I was very contagious and he wasn't sure it was bacterial or viral so he's definitely no expert!)

I have tried before applying propolis tincture directly to the wounds which seemed to provide some relief, although it may well have been psychological! but this time I took a propolis supplement orally and I really feel that this has helped as

This last bout has been by far the mildest, it lasted only a few days and did not cause me any discomfort other than the terrible itch which anyone who has suffered shingles will understand.

Whilst I would never wish shingles on anyone, it really made me feel better knowing there were other people out here suffering very similar symptoms and being made to feel like they should just get over it. Stress is a major trigger of my outbreaks and perhaps one of the reasons this last one was so mild was because I found this forum and didn't stress out as much as I might have wondering what I have done wrong, that I might be putting others at risk of infection, or if there might be a larger undetected health issue causing the outbreaks...

Bottom line is it [b:ea74731f5d]is[/b:ea74731f5d] contagious, but only with direct skin to blister contact, so I was not putting my elderly/pregnant clients at risk ( i am a hairdresser and was terribly afraid after my first bout that I might have actually killed someone-not good for stress levels :cry: )

Propolis is for me, very beneficial as a tincture/supplement and I would really recommend it to anyone suffering from shingles- if you are going to apply it direct I would advise checking that there is no alcohol in the extract....