Energy & resilience
Acupuncture for Shingles
Shingles can be very painful, and sometimes the pain lasts long after the skin has healed. It disturbs sleep, limits movement and often affects how you feel. Acupuncture and laser acupuncture can be used as gentle support during recovery, with attention to pain, relaxation and resistance.
What is shingles?
Shingles (herpes zoster) develops when the chickenpox virus, which remains in the body after chickenpox, becomes active again. Many people first notice a burning, tingling or stabbing feeling on one side of the body, followed by a band of red spots and blisters. Shingles often appears on the torso, but can also develop on the face, neck, an arm or a leg.
Shingles often develops after a period of stress, illness or exhaustion, when resistance is lower. It also becomes more common with age. Many people also feel generally tired and unwell during shingles.
In some people, nerve pain persists after the skin has healed. This is called post-herpetic neuralgia. The skin can then be hypersensitive to touch or clothing, with burning, shooting or itching pain that can last weeks to months.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Shingles from a TCM perspective
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, shingles in the acute phase is often seen as Heat and Dampness accumulating in the skin and meridians while resistance falls short. With pain that persists after healing, obstructed flow is the main focus. Treatment is adapted to the phase you are in.
Damp-Heat in Liver and Gallbladder
Gan Dan Shi ReWithin TCM, this pattern is associated with the acute phase: red, burning skin with blisters, severe pain, irritability, a bitter taste and poor sleep.
Qi and Blood stagnation
Qi Zhi Xue YuWhen the skin has healed but pain persists, TCM often describes obstructed flow in the affected area. This is associated with stabbing, shooting or burning pain in a fixed location.
Qi and Yin deficiency
Qi Yin Liang XuAfter a period of exhaustion or at a later age, TCM describes that both Qi and Yin may be deficient. This is associated with fatigue, dry skin, restless sleep and slower recovery.
How can acupuncture and laser acupuncture help with shingles?
Treatment focuses on relaxation, reducing tension in the nervous system and promoting healthy flow in the skin and underlying tissues. How treatment is given depends on the phase: during active shingles or with nerve pain that persists after healing.
- 01Targeted acupuncture: very fine needles are used on acupuncture points away from the skin lesions, along the course of the affected nerve and elsewhere on the body.
- 02Local laser treatment after healing: once the blisters have dried and the skin has recovered, the painful area can be treated directly with therapeutic laser light. Needle-free, and therefore comfortable for hypersensitive skin.
- 03Never on open blisters: during the active phase, the blisters themselves are not treated. They remain covered.
- 04Rest, sleep and resistance: because shingles often develops after a period of stress or exhaustion, attention is also given to recovery, sleep and supporting resistance.
Prefer no needles?
Every treatment can also be carried out completely needle-free with laser acupuncture, in which the same points are treated with therapeutic laser light. Ear acupuncture is always carried out with the laser. Acupressure, which also uses no needles, can be used as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is post-herpetic neuralgia?
Post-herpetic neuralgia is nerve pain that persists after the shingles itself has healed. The skin can be hypersensitive to touch or clothing, with burning, shooting or itching pain that can last weeks to months.
Can acupuncture help with shingles?
Acupuncture can be used as support for shingles, both in the active phase and for nerve pain that persists after healing. Treatment focuses on pain, relaxation, sleep and recovery. The degree of change people experience varies per person.
Can I be treated while I still have blisters?
Yes. During the active phase, points away from the skin lesions are treated; the blisters themselves remain covered and are not touched. It is important that you have seen your GP first.
Has acupuncture for shingles been researched?
Yes, some research has been done. Several studies, summarised among others by the British Acupuncture Council, describe less pain and better sleep after acupuncture, including for nerve pain after healing. Results vary greatly per person and there are also people for whom little changes.
Can laser acupuncture be used for nerve pain after shingles?
Yes. Once the skin has healed, the painful area can be treated locally with laser light. With hypersensitive skin, where even clothing can hurt, a needle-free treatment is often especially comfortable.
Is shingles contagious?
The fluid in the blisters contains the chickenpox virus. Someone who has never had chickenpox can catch chickenpox from it, not shingles directly. Until the blisters have dried, it is therefore wise to keep them covered and avoid contact with pregnant women and people with reduced resistance.
Related
Related complaints & patterns
Neuropathy
Tingling, numbness, burning pain or loss of strength in the hands and feet.
Fatigue
Persistent tiredness that does not fade with a night of sleep, and difficulty getting through the day.
Fibromyalgia
Widespread pain, stiffness and fatigue, often accompanied by poor sleep.
Personal Treatment Plan
Suffering from pain caused by shingles?
During a treatment, we look at which phase you are in and which form of acupuncture suits you best.