January 2026

Shingles home remedies

Shingles is thought to be caused by a virus of the herpes family. It's basically the adult form of chickenpox. A lot of people are scared of shingles because it can cause long term complications (pain). These long term complications appear if you don't treat the shingles outbreak properly or early enough. Many doctors send shingles patients home with just pain medication and no treatment.

A mixture of DMSO and IDU (Idoxuridine, an old antiviral drug) is a known good treatment for shingles (see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1101247/, Idoxuridine in the treatment of herpes zoster, J R Simpson) but you are unlikely to get this if you visit a modern day doctor. Idoxuridine is a prescription medication.

Proper treatment disappeared when the Shingrix vaccine appeared on the market as a financially viable solution for doctors. Advertisements for this vaccine focuses on pain and fear. Shingles can however be completely pain free and benign if treated properly.

There are a number of effective but almost unknown home and over the counter remedies for shingles. You can expect to get rid of your shingles outbreak in about a week if you start the treatment early. I would treat myself even if I just suspect a shingles case and there is no need wait for a professional diagnosis.

1) Coconut, BHT and peppermint oil

BHT stands for Butylated Hydroxytoluene and it's a food preservative. It's also a known antiviral for lipid envelope viruses. You can get BHT in the vitamin shop (note: I would not recommend to consume BHT orally) or order BHT in advance from china. It's cheap.

Warm up 3 teaspoons of coconut oil and add 1/2 teaspoon of BHT powder. Keep the coconut oil warm and stir until the BHT has dissolved. Add a few drops of peppermint essential oil and let the mixture cool down.

Apply this cream topically.

Coconut, BHT and peppermint oil: good for cold sores or shingles

BHT references

http://www.rifeenergymedicine.com/BHT.html
https://projectwellbeing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/BHTbook-StevenWmFowkes-200302.pdf, The BHT book, a practical guide to resolving viral disease, by Steven Fowkes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC429451/ US National Library of Medicine, Dec 1975, Inactivation of the Lipid-Containing Bacteriophage PM2 by Butylated Hydroxytoluene

2) Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO)

DMSO has antiviral properties because it dissolves the lipid coating of viruses and exposes the naked virus to the immune system. DMSO is offered for medical purposes as a 100% solution but must be diluted with water before use. The amount of water that needs to be added depends on the sensitivity of the person and the area of application. Shingles outbreaks occur usually on the sides or the back and a 70% DMSO solution is what many people feel comfortable with in these areas of the body.

DMSO-canada has a 70% DMSO and 30% aloe vera gel (https://www.dmsocanada.com/product-page/gel-dmso) I find that this gel is perfect because it does not run off when you apply it. It's easy to use. Just apply a thin film.

DMSO has not only antiviral effects it can also eliminate singles nerve pain associated with the outbreak.

DMSO references

https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/dmso-transforms-the-treatment-of
Book: DMSO, Nature's Healer, by Dr. Morton Walker
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC116584/, Dimethyl sulfoxide blocks herpes simplex virus-1 productive infection

3) Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) and benzalkonium chloride

I have not tried this but there is a 2020 patent on this:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20240216298A1/en, Topical treatment of herpes infections

You can get benzalkonium chloride disinfectant wipes in pharmacies. The maximum legal concentration is in Canada 0.15% benzalkonium chloride. The wipe could be applied to the affected area and then a bit of diluted DMSO could be applied on top.

4) Ivermectin horse paste

This is a well known covid-19 flu remedy but it helps also with coldsores and I suspect that it will work for shingles. Apply topically to the area. I have not tested it.

5) Chlorine Dioxide

I have not tried it for shingles but it works probably: https://curioushumanproductions.substack.com/p/eliminate-ear-infections-remove-skin

6) St John's Wort Oil

St John's Wort Oil can be applied topically to the areas affected by the shingles infection. It helps with nerve pain and St John's Wort has antiviral properties. See e.g https://www.avogel.ca/en/health/the-immune-system/shingles/

Follow-up and itch relief

My experience is that a shingles outbreak resolves completely in less than one week with option 1) and option 2). I used both but not at the same time. I rubbed it onto the area twice a day. That is: in the evening I applied the "1" and in the morning I applied "2". Very few blisters formed and dried up quickly.

The area kept itching (just slightly) for about 2 weeks even after there were no more visible signs of shingles. I used first red tiger balm and then the following home made anti-itch cream to resolve the itching.

Anti-itch ointment: Melt 4 tea spoons of beef tallow and dissolve 2 tea spoons of cayenne pepper powder in it. Add a few drops of peppermint essential oil and let it cool down. Apply to the affected area.

Tiger balm, red

Cayenne pepper powder (from the spice aisle of the supermarket)