Then there was the reader whose 85-year-old cousin has suffered from shingles for four years. The family doctor doesn't seem to have any ideas, so what can she do? Suspect parasites as the cause of the shingles, suggests one reader, and they can be treated either with wormwood, black walnut hull and cloves, or you could get them 'zapped' by a kinesiologist. Try large doses of vitamin C and L-lysine, and try B complex to restore the nervous system, suggests another reader. Another effective nerve treatment is a topical cream with St John's wort (Hypericum), or try Quercetin supplemented by large doses of vitamin C, taken hourly. Another reader says her shingles cleared in two weeks following treatment with a Scenar (or Kosmed) device, although you'll need to find a trained practitioner. One reader had a similarly successful experience when she tried Dr Mathias Rath's supplements for cellular health. She took Vitacord Plus, Epican Forte, Prolsinc C, and VitaCforte with meals once a day, and her shingles also went in two weeks.