www.needleplant.com

Introduction 

Folklore has it that this snake will encircle either your torso or your eyes, and then you’re done with. Now we know it as 带状疱疹，shingles or herpes zoster (different than genital herpes or herpes mouth sores). The virus responsible for this disease - varicella zoster - is the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person gets and recovers from chickenpox, the virus continues to live in the person’s nerve fibers, and is activated when the person’s immune system is compromised due to stress, illness or even certain medications.

Manifestation and Treatment

Usualy starts as pain below the skin, later manifesting as blisters that move like a snake following the path of the nerve fibers below. The whole process may take about a month to complete if no treatment is given. Sometimes, if the blisters are gone, but the pain in the nerve fiber continues, then we have a case of post-herpetic neuralgia, a common complication of Shingles.

As mentioned earlier, treatment is not necessary, but it helps. Treatment by modern medication comes in two forms: (1) anti-virals is it’s during the first1-3 days; (2) pain-relievers.

Acupuncture Treatment

The question now is whether known forms of acupuncture treatment can help. Because treatment is not necessary, are the needles there just as a placebo-effect?

To find out more about the traditional treatment principle, let’s look at an ancient text. The following needling technique, called 杨刺法, is proposed:

《灵枢。官针》：“扬刺者，正内一，旁内四而浮之，以治寒气之博大者也。”

This means putting one needle where the area of malaise is (e.g. pain) and then putting four needles surrounding it. A similar method that’s also commonly used is called 围刺法，which first involves surrounding the area of malaise with needles, then putting the center needle in.

Making sense of it

While the encircling metaphor may make intuitive sense, some people will ask for a more ’scientific’ explanation. Using the ideas of modern immuno-physiology, assuming that needle stimulation in a particular area body will bring about an immune response there, then localized needling should help your body fight the virus which is located where the pain is. As for pain management, there has already been research done on acupuncture for pain management, although the details will be for another entry.

Sources:

1. 中国中医药出版社，《刺法灸法学》

2.  http://www.medicinenet.com/shingles/article.htm

3. http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/shingles.html

4. http://www.springerlink.com/content/115m5n7q56130297/