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Shingles and Postherpetic Neuralgia
Shingles is a disease caused by the same virus (Varicella zoster) that causes chicken pox. Shingles usually affects the elderly or people with compromised immune function. Nerve pain that persists after other symptoms have cleared is called postherpetic neuralgia.
What are the symptoms of shingles?
Symptoms include pain, itching, or a tingling sensation prior to the appearance of a severely painful skin rash of red, fluid-filled blisters that later crust over. The rash is typically located on the trunk or face and only affects one side of the body. Pain may resolve rapidly or persist in the area of the rash for months to years after the rash disappears.
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Hypertension
Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. Approximately 90% of people with high blood pressure have “essential” or “idiopathic” hypertension, for which the cause is poorly understood. The terms “hypertension” and “high blood pressure” as used here refer only to this most common form and not to pregnancy-induced hypertension or clearly linked to a known cause, such as Cushing’s syndrome, pheochromocytoma, or kidney disease. Hypertension must always be evaluated by a healthcare professional. Extremely high blood pressure (malignant hypertension) or rapidly worsening blood pressure (accelerated hypertension) almost always requires treatment with conventional medicine. People with mild to moderate high blood pressure should work with a doctor before attempting to use the information contained here, as blood pressure requires monitoring and in some cases the use of blood pressure-lowering drugs.
As with conventional drugs, the use of natural substances sometimes controls blood pressure if taken consistently but does not lead to a cure for high blood pressure. Thus, someone whose blood pressure is successfully reduced by weight loss, avoidance of salt, and increased intake of fruits and vegetables would need to maintain these changes permanently in order to retain control of blood pressure. Left untreated, hypertension significantly increases the risk of stroke and heart disease.
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Diabetes
People with diabetes cannot properly process glucose, a sugar the body uses for energy. As a result, glucose stays in the blood, causing blood glucose to rise. At the same time, however, the cells of the body can be starved for glucose. Diabetes can lead to poor wound healing, higher risk of infections, and many other problems involving the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart.
There are two types of diabetes mellitus. Childhood-onset diabetes is also called type 1, or insulin-dependent, diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas cannot make the insulin needed to process glucose. Natural therapies cannot cure type 1 diabetes, but they may help by making the body more receptive to insulin supplied by injection. It is particularly critical for people with type 1 diabetes to work carefully with the doctor prescribing insulin before contemplating the use of any herbs, supplements, or dietary changes mentioned in this article. Any change that makes the body more receptive to insulin could require critical changes in insulin dosage that must be determined by the treating physician.
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High Cholesterol
Although it is by no means the only major risk factor, elevated serum cholesterol is clearly associated with a high risk of heart disease. Most doctors suggest cholesterol levels should stay under 200 mg/dl. Cholesterol levels lower than 200 mg/dl are not without risk, however, as many people with levels below 200 have heart attacks. As levels fall below 200, the risk of heart disease continues to decline. Many doctors consider cholesterol levels of no more than 180 to be optimal.
Medical laboratories now subdivide total cholesterol measurement into several components, including LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which is directly linked to heart disease, and HDL (“good”) cholesterol, which is protective. The relative amount of HDL to LDL is more important than total cholesterol. For example, it is possible for someone with very high HDL to be at relatively low risk for heart disease even with total cholesterol above 200. Evaluation of changes in cholesterol requires consultation with a healthcare professional and should include measurement of total serum cholesterol, as well as HDL and LDL cholesterol.
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High Homocysteine
Homocysteine, a normal breakdown product of the essential amino acid, methionine, is believed to exert several toxic effects. A growing body of evidence suggests that an elevated homocysteine level is a risk factor for heart disease, independent of other known risk factors, such as elevated serum cholesterol and hypertension. The evidence is not all one-sided, however. In some research the link has appeared only in women, and a few scientists still have doubts about the importance of elevations in homocysteine for anyone. The clear association between elevated homocysteine levels and heart disease reported in most studies does not conclusively prove that homocysteine causes heart disease. It might only be a marker for something else that is the real culprit. Nonetheless, many cardiologists take seriously the association between elevations in homocysteine and increased risk of heart disease.
Anger and hostility correlate with the risk of heart disease. A preliminary study found a link between high homocysteine levels and hostility and repressed anger. While anger, hostility, high homocysteine, and heart disease all appear to be tied together, which of these is cause and which is effect remains somewhat unclear.
Increased homocysteine levels may also be a risk factor for the development of many other conditions, including stroke, thromboembolism (blood clots that can dislodge and cause stroke, heart attack, and other complications), osteoporosis, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), Alzheimer’s disease, death from diabetes, miscarriage, other complications of pregnancy, and hypothyroidism.
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