Herpes zoster is caused by the varicella-zoster virus of the herpesvirus group and is characterized by neuralgia and clusters of herpes along the peripheral nerves in a band-like distribution. The duration of the disease is usually 2-3 weeks. It can occur at any age and is most commonly seen in young adults. It occurs in the spring and autumn, and usually does not recur after healing. However, in recent years, there has been an increase in specific types of herpes zoster, and generalized herpes zoster or recurrent herpes zoster can be seen. It has a certain degree of self-healing, but often leaves a residual neuralgia for months to years after all rashes and blisters have subsided, which can seriously affect people’s quality of life.
Herpes zoster belongs to the Chinese medicine group known as “snake sores”, “tangled waist and fire pimples”, “snake pimples”, “spider sores “The “fire belt sores” category.
1. Points of identification and treatment.
Chinese medicine believes that the etiology of this disease is mostly due to internal injury of emotion and will, depression of liver qi, which turns into fire and toxicity and develops externally through the liver and gallbladder meridians; or if the diet is not proper, the spleen loses its health, damp heat is generated internally, which overflows the skin and feels external evil, which wrestles with the knots and turns into toxicity. If the old man has insufficient positive energy, dampness and toxin accumulate and steam, blocking the skin, and the meridians are not unblocked, resulting in stagnation of Qi and blood stasis, the pain often remains and stabs more than once.
2.Basic treatment.
Patients should avoid eating spicy, fishy hairy things; diet should be light, eat more vegetables and fruits; psychological adjustment should keep the mood relaxed. Keep local dryness and cleanliness, avoid the use of irritating topical drugs to prevent the expansion of lesions and aggravation of the disease. Prevention and conditioning should focus on improving immune function. Patients should usually strengthen physical exercise, enhance physical fitness, work and rest, to prevent colds.
3.Chinese medicine internal treatment.
According to the different parts of the body, the head and face should be treated with Yinhua vine and Angelica dahurica, the trunk should be treated with Chai Hu, and the extremities should be treated with Mulberry branch. In the middle and late stages of the disease, especially when the skin lesions have receded and left behind post-neuralgia, older patients with long-standing disease should add products to support the deficiency, such as Huang Qi and Dang Shen. In the early stage of the disease, when dampness and heat in the liver and gallbladder are both prevalent, products to invigorate blood circulation and remove blood stasis should be used with caution, otherwise it is easy to cause toxic evil to spread; in the late stage of the disease, products to invigorate blood circulation and remove blood stasis should be added at the right time and appropriately to reduce the severity of post-neuralgia and its occurrence. For stubborn and severe posterior neuralgia, we should consider adding worm medicines to search the meridians and wind evils in order to pass the meridians and stop the pain, such as centipede and whole scorpion. If necessary, we can add herbal injection for static drip according to the identification, as follows.
Bitter Dish Injection: 40ml added to 250ml of 0.9% physiological saline, intravenous drip, once a day. Clearing heat, activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis. It is suitable for herpes zoster with dampness and fire, damp heat of liver and spleen, especially with pain.
Calendula Officinalis Injection: 40mg in 250ml of 0.9% saline, intravenous, once daily. Clear heat, activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis. It is suitable for herpes zoster with dampness, dampness and heat in liver and spleen, especially for pain.
Tanshinone injection: 40ml in 250ml of 0.9% saline, intravenous drip, once a day. It activates blood circulation and resolves blood stasis, and clears blood vessels and channels. It is suitable for those with unresolved toxic heat and blood stasis.
Compound glycyrrhizin injection: 40ml in 0.9% saline 250ml, intravenous drip, once a day. Function Detoxification and anti-inflammation, with similar adrenocorticotropic hormone-like effect. Early use can prevent posterior neuralgia.
Astragalus injection: 10-20ml in 0.9% saline 100ml, intravenous drip, once a day. Functions Benefit qi, move qi and activate blood. Suitable for people with Qi stagnation and blood stasis.
Ginseng and wheat injection: 50-100ml in 0.9% saline 100ml, intravenous drip, once a day. Benefiting Qi and nourishing Yin. Applicable to those with deficiency of both qi and yin.
4.TCM external treatment.
(1) Two flavors of plucking poison: male yellow, alum 1:1 research fine. With thick green tea water mixed into a paste, applied to the rash with blisters of red color, and stop using after the blisters are completely dry. It can detoxify, kill insects and astringent. It is suitable for the initial stage of herpes zoster. However, this medicine should not be rubbed externally in areas where the skin is broken and in thin and tender areas such as the scrotum and eyelids.
(2) Those with residual neuralgia: those with fully recovered skin can add pain-seeking wine or Qingpeng ointment for external rubbing.
(3) If the blister does not break, use a trigeminal needle or sterilized needle to pick through it, or use a fire needle to puncture it to make the herpes flow out to reduce the swelling and pain.
5.Acupuncture therapy.
(1) Basic acupuncture method: acupuncture points are taken for the ayurvedic point, the pinch point corresponding to the site of the lesion on the affected side (the corresponding nerve segment of the lesion and one segment above and below, the bilateral branch gou point, and the bilateral Houxi point. The operation method is as follows.
Peripheral acupuncture: the patient is placed in a recumbent position, and after routine disinfection, the needle is inserted at 0.2 cm from the edge of the lesion with a 1.5-2 inch milli-needle, with the needle point facing the center of the lesion area at an angle of 15°, and the needle distance is about 1-2 cm (the number of needles per cluster is directly proportional to the size of the lesion area. (5cm or more, 10-16 needles are appropriate). The needles are left in place for 30 minutes, once a day.
Electroacupuncture: 1.5-2 inch milli-needle is used for the acupuncture point, and after acupuncture, it is connected to the Han’s acupoint stimulator. The negative pole of the same output electrode is connected to the branch gou point on one side, and the positive pole is connected to the Houxi point on the same side. The intensity of electroacupuncture stimulation to the patient’s tolerance, after 30 minutes of electricity, out of the needle, once a day. 10 times for a course of treatment, a total of one course of treatment.
(2) cotton moxibustion therapy: cotton moxibustion: the patient to take a lying position, will be fully exposed to the A is point, with vital iodine routine disinfection, will be torn into a thin skimmer dry cotton (thin cotton sheet should not have holes), about 3 × 3 M2 size cotton sheet, according to the area of the lesion to determine the number of moxibustion cotton sheet. Spread on the A-Ye point, ignite the cotton with a match, the cotton quickly burned out, at this time the patient only a slight burning sensation, each application of moxibustion 3 times.
(3) fire acupuncture therapy: take the same points as the basic acupuncture method, the specific operation method is as follows.
Fire acupuncture: the patient to take a lying position, in the point has been selected to be disinfected with vital iodine, ignite the alcohol lamp, the left hand holds the alcohol lamp, the right hand holds a medium-thick fire needle in the outer flame of the alcohol lamp to heat the needle body, until the tip of the needle burned to red and white, quickly and accurately into the center of the herpes about 0.2-0.3cm, according to the number of herpes, first stabbing early-onset herpes, each time choose 3-5, each herpes needling 2 times, after the operation squeeze out herpes fluid After the operation, squeeze out the herpes fluid, press for about 30 seconds, and apply a layer of universal oil.
(4) Percussion cupping therapy: the patient is in a sitting or lateral position, fully expose the affected area, local routine disinfection, and then percussion with a sterilized plum blossom needle on the A-Yi point (the skin between each cluster of blisters), to the extent of local micro-bleeding, and then select a suitable size of glass jar, quickly cupping and pressing on the piercing site and the ends of the lesion. Leave the jar for 5-10 minutes, bleeding 3-5ml, disinfect the affected area with vital iodine after removing the jar, and depending on the size of the herpes area, decide the type and number of fire jars.
(5) Acupoint injection therapy: Thymopentin needles or vitamin B12 needles can be injected into the bilateral feet three miles points.
(6) Moxibustion therapy: light one end of the moxa stick and slowly move it up and down to the left and right in the area of the lesion and the nerve segment in which it is located, for 20-30 minutes, once a day.