From the Desk of Dr. Howard Robins at The Healing Center in New York City

Have you ever had chickenpox or a cold sore?

Almost everyone answers yes to this question. If you answered yes, then you have a herpes infection. Both types of viral infections are easily transferred by contact with someone with a current outbreak. You may have both!

Herpes zoster (HZ), commonly known as shingles, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a limited area on one side of the body, often in a stripe. The initial infection causes chickenpox, which usually occurs in children and young adults. After the chickenpox is gone, the virus remains in the body and can go on to cause shingles. HZ is not the same disease as herpes simplex types 1 or 2, despite the similar name, although both HZ and herpes simplex belong to the same viral family.

HZ becomes dormant in some of our nerve cells without causing symptoms. Many years after a chickenpox infection, the virus may break out of nerve cells and cause a viral infection of the skin in the area around the nerve. The virus may spread from one nerve to another, resulting in a painful rash. Although the rash usually heals within two to four weeks, most people experience nerve pain for months or years, a condition called postherpetic neuralgia. In the past, outbreaks usually occurred in the elderly, but now they are common for anyone at any age who is under great stress or has a compromised immune system.

Herpes simplex 1 and 2 cause the oral and genital forms of what we commonly simply call herpes. They also spread in a way that’s similar to the HZ virus. Herpes simplex is a viral disease caused by both herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2. Oral herpes, the visible symptoms of which are often called cold sores or fever blisters, is an infection of the face or mouth. Oral herpes is the most common form and genital herpes is the second-most common form of infection. However, both types can be found both orally and genitally! Outbreaks may recur from time to time, especially as a result of stress, alcohol use or eating foods high in a protein called L-arginine, which is found in nuts and chocolate, among other foods.

Herpes Can Be Eliminated!

Treatments with antivirals can reduce outbreaks and may alleviate the severity of symptomatic episodes but will not get rid of the infection. Medical ozone is the only medicine known to destroy and rid the body of this horrible infection.

Please don’t believe the commercials on television saying you can never get rid of herpes. Though with no promises or guarantees, medical ozone has been used all over the world to treat infections that normally cannot be fixed, including herpes in all its forms. Medical ozone is a gas that, when it enters the body intravenously, sticks to all viruses, bacteria, fungi, yeasts and molds and destroys or inactivates them so the body can remove them completely.

Most important, medical ozone acts without the harmful adverse reactions or side effects so typical of pharmaceuticals. In more than 50 countries for over 70 years, more than 45,000 physicians have used medical ozone to successfully and safely treat diseases such as herpes.

So don’t give up hope, and don’t wait! It is absolutely possible to eliminate herpes from your body.

More information about this amazing, safe and effective treatment is available at OzoneWithoutBorders.ngo; on my website, OzoneDoctor.net; and on my radio show, “Functional Medicine with Dr. Robins,” which is archived but live each week on VoiceAmerica.com’s Health and Wellness Channel. Still, have questions? Call my office at 212-581-0101.