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May 05

How Long Does Shingles Last – My Research

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how long does shingles last

Strictly speaking, shingles last for a LIFETIME. You will always have inside of you the varicella zoster virus, actually you have always had this virus inside of you ever since you had chickenpox. And now your immune system weakened because of old age, stress etc. it now re-emerges as shingles.

research 1

source: http://www.cdc.gov/shingles/hcp/clinical-overview.html

The Unknown Reason

It is a lifetime disease, until doctors are not able to fully understand the reason why the dormant virus re-emerges then recurrence is something we need to think about and prepare for. Not many websites say this bluntly maybe because they don’t want to dishearten their readers. But that only worsen the problem. Instead of educating people how to minimize recurrence and severity of an outbreak, they just send people treating their outbreaks half informed.

research 2

source: http://www.cdc.gov/shingles/hcp/clinical-overview.html

 

The Truth About Shingles Recurrence

Until now, the CDC admits that they still lack medical data to fully understand this illness. Strangely enough, they even admit that the annual recurrence is NOT KNOWN to them? How can that be? There are so many articles, forums, videos around the internet that testifies that shingles can re-occur for several years! If such testimonials are in the internet, is it that hard for CDC to investigate on them?

 

research 3

source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2011-rst/6160.html

research 4

Source: http://www.webmd.com

Shingles Vaccine – Can it Help Prevent Recurrence? 

There is no permanent cure for shingles. This I learned taking care of my mom for almost five long years wherein she bears the pain (postherpetic neuralgia) from the damaged nerves caused by the virus. Unfortunately for other people, they experience shingles in their face; a very dangerous case of shingles because it has the potential to damage the eyes leading to blindness if left untreated.

 

How about the shingles vaccine? Even if you have the shingles vaccine, it does not guarantee prevention of recurrence. Although research shows that it helps reduce the possibility of recurrence.

research 5

Source: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/news/20120605/risk-shingles-recurrence-is-low

 

 

What Can You Do About It?

If we can’t completely eliminate the varicella zoster virus in our body we can at least manage shingles outbreak by using several treatments available.

 

Still thinking that this is just as simple as chickenpox? That you can just brush off?

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Death By Shingles! – Statistics 

If this is just the first time you have a shingles outbreak, then you must realize how serious this illness can be. I don’t want to frighten you, but you need to know this. Mom and I haven’t heard this from our doctor, but it is something that you need to know for you to take actions to better take care of your health NOW!

research 6

source: http://www.cdc.gov/shingles/hcp/clinical-overview.html#reference

 

I hope you realize the severity and seriousness of this disease so you better educate yourself and don’t just rely on your doctor! Most doctors still lacks necessary training and information about this disease. So you better shop around for someone who does. Your best bet is an Infectious Disease Specialist.

 

Can You “Totally” Trust The Medical Industry?

If you have managed to educate yourself on the realities of the medical world and the influence of the money making pharmaceutical industry on it, you will certainly not limit yourself on their philosophy of…

 

“A pill for every ill???”

 

conventional medicines

With such belief, my mom had to suffer five years of unnecessary pain and trouble. Because we thought that antiviral drugs that doc gave are the only way to treat shingles outbreaks. Limiting my mom’s treatment to conventional medicines did not help prevent recurrence. At the same time it also exposed my mom on the risks of the potential side effects of prolong use of her toxic drugs.

 

There Is A Better Way

Realizing these, I decided to do something about it. Being an Industrial Engineer that advocates the philosophy of “there is ALWAYS a BETTER way”, I started searching the internet for possible “cures” for shingles. I’ve searched different websites, read forums and books.

 

People on forums mostly discuss about their experience, their pains, their stories. I had to spend hundreds of hours and sort through hundreds of stories just to pick up some possible good treatments.

 

You don’t have to go through that. Especially if you have an outbreak right now, you need to immediately treat it!!! Within 72 hours from the first symptom you should already treating it to reduce its severity and duration.

 

That’s one of the reason why I put up this website. To help people like you get necessary information on this debilitating disease.

 

To your health! – Chazper

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Sep 06

How Long Does Shingles Last – My Honest Fast Shingles Cure Review

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Tuesday, January 1, 2013 by Chazper San Miguel

 

Here’s an update of this review post on the duration of my mom’s shingles  after trying out the natural treatments prescribed by the system and comparing it with her treatment using conventional medicines alone. An update here is the benefits of juicing fruits and vegetables, it further decreased the duration of shingles outbreak to one day (if you can call that an outbreak).

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Note that her shingles has been recurring for 5 years and her last full blown outbreak was last September 2012.

(See Below Video of My Mom – Turn Your Speakers On)

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How Long Does Shingles Last My Moms Shingles Treatment 20130114

 

You’ve seen in my previous post the answer to the question “how long does shingles last using conventional medicines” like acycrovil which doctors usually prescribe to treat shingles.

(September 6, 2012) In this post I’ll discuss about the duration of my mom’s shingles using the Fast Shingles Cure System a shingles treatment that uses natural remedies, written by Nutrition Specialist and Health Consultant Bob Carlton.

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Conventional Shingles Treatment

For comparison sake, let me first summarize the case of my mom’s use of usual toxic drugs in the treatment of her shingles:

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Duration of Shingles using Conventional Medicines:         4 weeks 

treatment for shingles 300x206

(from onset to the clearing out of the rashes)

Start of Shingles Treatment: 1st day  symptoms appeared (note: it is important to treat shingles within 72 hours to have the duration and severity reduced)
Age of my Mom: started when she was 55 until 59 years old
Overall Health Condition: No immune related disease, not taking immune suppressant drugs. Location: From below her breast going toward her back.
Physical Lifestyle: After a day or two of shingles treatment… she is buying groceries, teaching, church activities (I know, she should be resting to speed up recovery but she is a stubborn industrious mom!)

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Even though she was able to do such activities, she still waits for the pain to subside. Sometimes it’s there and then it becomes tolerable. But when the pain is there… it’s really there!

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But because her treatment started immediately, the severity and duration was reduced. In any case it was still a problem… as the saying goes, an old disease for the old (well, that is usually the case but it can also occur in young people).

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As the years passed by, the severity and duration of each outbreak was reduced. But still her shingles outbreak frequently occurs (recurring shingles).

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So now I think it’s really high time to check for a natural shingles treatment or remedy to balanced out the risk of taking toxic medicines vs. effectiveness of natural remedies. If natural remedies for shingles are effective AND efficient (can cure fast) then why take the conventional medicines right?

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Natural Shingles Treatment

natural 300x300So today, I’ll share with you the results of using natural remedies to treat my mom’s recurring shingles.

As already mentioned, my goal is to avoid my mom from being exposed to the possible side effects of prolong use of her doctor’s prescribed drugs to treat shingles.

Specifically, I’ll expose the truth behind Bob Carlton’s  Fast Shingles Cure system, with his claim that it can cure shingles in 3 days or less using natural or home remedies. “Come on Chazper! You can’t expect me to believe that shingles can be treated in 3 days!” – you might exclaim as I did when I first saw this book.

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Don’t worry, unlike other review blogs this is an unbiased review. Just to say this upfront, I have both positive and negative comments about the Fast Shingles Cure system.

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I’ve got my hands on Bob’s Fast Shingles Cure System this year and had my mom followed his system when she got another patch of rash (1.5 inch diameter) starting to appear at her back.

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The Good and the Bad in a Nutshell

Fast Shingles Cure is probably the most comprehensive guide for shingles treatment using natural and home remedies. No need for further research and sorting out the hundreds and thousands of articles in the web just to find a few of the treatments prescribed in the book.

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The book prescribes a bathing system using ingredients that you can easily find right at your home (from baking soda to oats). It also prescribes the use of natural ingredients like neem leaves to effectively reduce/eliminate itchiness and heal shingles fast. You can buy most of these natural remedies at your local health shop, as what I’ve did in my video above.

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My mom had some challenges in following the system. They are as follows:

  1. No bathtub. Yes, the average Filipino household does not have a bathtub! So we need to improvise by buying a small inflatable tub
  2. Work. As I’ve already mentioned, my mom is a stubbornly industrious person. The system recommends to take rest for you to quickly heal your shingles. But after a day she went out to work. This may have prolong the healing process as it took around 10 days instead of the 3 days claimed by the book. Once I found out that she was working, I asked her to take a rest…. gosh.
  3. Frequency of taking needed bath and applying the remedies. The system requires taking the said baths and topical remedies for every 3 or 4 hours in a day. As my mom is working, she was not able to religiously follow this. Although she goes home during lunch break to take the bath and remedies she was able to do these 3  x a day only.
  4. Sticking to the recommended dosage. I don’t know why my mom only took one capsule a day of the special oil mentioned in the ebook. But as soon as I found out, I called her to take the number of recommended capsules as mentioned in the bottle (i.e. 2 x a day). “I’ve researched it and it’s safe, it’s just like your grapeseed oil mom. It’s safe and natural”.  If you’re like me, you need to supervise your parents as they grow old. It was difficult for me because I’m hundreds of kilometer away from her, so we only communicated through phone.

 

Clippings of Fast Shingles Cure

What I like about the Fast Shingles Cure system. 

You could probably find a lot of good points once you try the system out yourself. I’m not here to do a sales talk on the system so I will not mention all of its benefits; you can just check Bob’s website.

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So to cut my story short, for me there are 3 major things that I like about Fast Shingles Cure system… and they are exactly what I was looking for for my mom. They are as follows:

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    1. It cured my mom’s outbreak in 10 days instead of the usual 30 days (when using conventional medicines only). Less 20 days of pain, blisters and inconvenience of not able to do the things my mom loved.
      1. I won’t embellish my review by telling you that it cured my mom in 3 days. Maybe it can in some people, but different people have different health conditions. I will also not tell you that my mom only used the natural remedies of the system, because she also took antiviral drugs in her last outbreak.
    2. It stopped my mom’s 5-year recurring shingles! Thus, she no longer have to take her toxic antiviral drugs every month! Taking away the risks of experiencing the negative side effects of her medicines prolong use. No more scarring, no more itchiness etc.
    3. It helped my mom to live a healthier life through the information the book provided plus the other accompanying health books Bob provided.

 

 

In Summary, What Do I Think?

fastshinglescurebook

You need to prioritize your shingles treatment over “other” activities you are busy with in your life for you to quickly recuperate.

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If you want to cure your shingles fast with natural remedies, strictly follow the system. No eating of that very common household ingredient that prolong the healing process. Relax, rest, take a leave of absence! Stay POSITIVE. Nourish your body with the nutrients it needs to fight off this disease.

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Take actions TODAY not tomorrow.

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Throughout this whole shingles treatment, whatever path you want to take (conventional or natural), don’t forget to pray and seek divine healing from the One that healeth and giveth life. Yes, no matter how rich you are, no matter how much medicines you can afford to buy… all of these are useless if you don’t have life.

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I hope this review helped you in your search for a natural and fast shingles cure. If you have questions or comments, you can leave a message here or send me an email (see contact me page).

Check out the Fast Shingles Cure System on this link.

 

To you and your loved one’s health! – Chazper

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Sep 01

Medical Treatment for Shingles

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treatment for shingles 300x206It was 2008 when it first hit my mom. They started as rashes in her left side below her breast.

She immediately went to our local dermatologist, thinking that they were just ordinary rashes. She was just given the usual topical medicines.

How long does shingles last with incorrect medicines you asked? It took more than 2 months before the blisters and rashes went away, as if they were not treated at all! That long? Well, it may depend also on her physical conditions back then.

After several months another outbreak appeared, my mom decided to go to the city to see another dermatologist recommended by a friend. There she was diagnosed to have shingles (a.k.a. herpes zoster). She was immediately given medical treatment for shingles.

Below are the medicines, all of which together with other fees cost us a total of Php 10,000 ($250)!!! She was cured after three to four weeks, faster than before.

  • VALTREX 500mg tab 2 x a day for 7 days
  • ACYCLOVIR 800mg tab 5x a day for 7 days every 4 hrs,
  • GLYCERINE bar (body soap)
  • GLYCOLIC bar (facial soap)
  • Ramaveen lotion apply after bath

But after some time her shingles do come back. As I’ve said in my about me page, my mom first had this disease last 2008 and it’s been five years; every now and then her shingles re-emerges. Especially when she feels depressed, lacks sleep, stressed (being a public elementary school teacher is hard nowadays, children of this generation are hard headed she said), and other factors that lowers her immune system.

So based on what I have already found in the web and as also mentioned by her doctor, the key in preventing the recurrence of shingles is either to be vaccinated and/or a strong immune system. Talk about that on my next posts.

Add to that, I’ve checked the adverse side effects of Acyclovir in Wikipedia and in my point of view it’s not good to have my mom exposed to such risks. It’s more than enough to have her take those medicines for 5 years, I will not let her take more risks by me doing nothing!

This year I’ve searched for some natural cures for shingles to avoid the negative side effects of medicines. I was not that too concerned with the cost of medicines but I’m more concerned about her liver as well. Because if she’s taking too much different medicines at her old age, I know that would somehow negatively affect her liver especially if a particular medicine is taken for a long period of time (reference about.com). Even if a medicine is only applied to the skin, it is absorbed by the body as well.

Lessons learned.

  1. Consult with a proven “good” doctor, ask for recommendations from friends, colleagues and relatives.
  2. If you had chickenpox when you were young, and you are now 50 years old and above ask your doctor to have you check for shingles if you notice the symptoms I mentioned in my previous post.
  3. The key is immediate treatment within 3 days of first symptom of shingles in order to have the treatment truly effective and lessen the duration/severity of this disease.

To your health and our loved ones! – Chazper

 

 

 

Click this link for an update on how my mom quickly recovered from her shingles outbreak

 

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Sep 03

Natural Treatment for Shingles

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Sharing with you some natural remedies from the Fast Shingles Cure ebook that claims to cure shingles within 3 days. It is very very important to start treatment as soon as possible (first 72 hours) to lessen the duration and severity of your shingles. How long does shingles last with natural remedies? Based on the experience of my mom it took around 10 days, longer than expected maybe because of some minor setbacks (but more of that on my next post).

Remember, you have the option to treat it with conventional medicines as what I have mentioned in my previous post or to treat it with natural (non-toxic, safe and cheap) remedies.  In the case of my mom, I suggested to her to try out natural remedies because she already used too much of her doctor’s prescribed drugs for a span of 5 years (recurrent shingles). Prolong use of such medicines might have negative impact on her body.

Now, below are some of the many natural remedies I’ve found in Bob Carlton’s Fast Shingles Cure ebook and they were actually used by my mom. At a later post, I’ll be providing you a complete and unbiased review of the Bob’s Fast Shingles Cure system… both the good and the bad. But for now, below are some of the natural treatment my mom have tried.

1) Oatmeal Bath

I guess oatmeal is readily available in your kitchen once you turn 50. Sorry, I just have this perception in childhood that oatmeal is a food for the old. But as I grew older myself I’ve realized that its really a healthy food to eat by both the young and old icon smile

Now, I never realized that it can even be used to treat shingles! This is just one of the seven special bathing procedures you can use. Baths are amazing because you can soak your entire body underwater and have the remedy absorbed by your body. You need to process the oatmeal until it becomes almost powder like and then add it to a bathtub. Base from the book this can stop itchiness, burning sensation, the pain and it supports the healing process of your blisters.

2) Neem Leaves

Neem Leaves is also a very powerful remedy to treat Shingles. You might have difficulty in finding them, but you can check Neem Leavesat your local health foods store or buy online. How to prepare? Just put a few of them to a lukewarm bath and mix it up! Make sure that you stay for at least 20 minutes for each of the bathing treatment.

3) Honey

This doesn’t come to me as a surprise. I’ve been using “raw” honey my self to manage my seborrheic dermatitis. So I know the efficacy of “raw” honey to treat skin diseases. What you need is natural, organic and “raw” honey. Meaning, it shouldn’t be processed or heat treated. This is to ensure that the enzymes are still there. You can do more research about the benefits of honey. But I totally agree when Bob included it in his system to treat shingles.

The instruction is just to smear a thin layer of the honey over the rashes. But my advice is to put a drop or two of alkalized water (or simply water with no chlorine) to reduce the viscosity of the honey and so that it can be easily absorbed by the skin (friendly tip). Honey will also help in the itching, pain, burning and healing process.

My mom tried these three Shingles Natural Remedies. Make sure to gently care for the infected skin while you still have blisters and spots. Else they may turn into scars and get much worse.

After trying them out, my mom and I still feels that taking antiviral drugs is still best whenever there is an outbreak of shingles.  And then compliment it with these natural remedies and supplements  to boost your immune system to speedup recovery and prevent recurrence. Checkout my detailed review of the Fast Shingles Cure on this link. 

 

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Sep 02

Shingles Vaccine Side Effects

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shingles vaccine side effects 199x300Just like any conventional medicines there is always a risk of severe allergic reaction but it is very rare for a vaccine. If you do experienced severe allergic reaction, you should check back with your doctor. As of CDC’s latest report, there are no serious problems recorded coming from the use of the shingle vaccine. But there are minor complication listed below.

- Itching, redness or soreness where it was injected – 33% probability
– Headache – 1.42% probability

For more information you can check the shingles vaccine information sheet of CDC.

It turned out that this vaccine was released 2 years before my mom had her first breakout of shingles. Unfortunately it was not available here in the Philippines. The vaccine Zostavax was released to the public in 2006. Unlike other vaccines (e.g. hepatitis, chickenpox, mumps, measles etc), this shingles vaccine has a much lower efficacy rate of only 50 percent. Meaning you have a 50-50 chance of still getting shingles. But once you get vaccinated, even if you still get shingles, the pain and duration are reduced compared to people who doesn’t have it.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also note that  the vaccine is not designed to treat active shingles or postherpetic neuralgia (the pain caused by damaged nerves after the rash is gone) once you already have it.

The CDC recommends that people who are 60 years old and above should take the shingles vaccine even if they don’t recall that they had chickenpox. Because based on their statistics, around 99% of Americans who are 40 years old and above have had chickenpox. Sometimes people forget or just didn’t realize that they had it.

Now, before you decide to get a shot of the vaccine, take time to review the said information sheet. Particularly to the possible side effects and then check if you belong to the list of people who should NOT get the vaccine. I wont mention the details but basically, people who have low immune system should not take the vaccine (e.g. people who have AIDS, Cancer patients that just went through chemo, leukemia, a pregnant woman etc.)

In my opinion, the vaccine is relatively still new. There is still an ongoing study to check how long the vaccine remains effective. Currently they are saying that it is good for around 6 years. 

So how much is the shingles vaccine cost? It varies, but based on what I have found it is around $200 to $250, including the administration fee, consultation fee etc. You need to check your health insurance on how much they will cover.

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Sep 01

What Are The Symptoms of Shingles and Duration

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what are the symptoms of shingles 202x300Shingles, also known as herpes zoster is common on adults and seniors who have had chickenpox in their early years. Important thing to remember is that on the first appearance of the symptoms within the 72 hours “window of opportunity”, you should have it treated immediately to reduce the severity and duration of this disease.

The rash usually heals from two to four weeks. More than that, then you need to ask for a second opinion or have yourself checked for immune related problems that might be causing delay in the healing process.

The first time my mom had shingles, her dermatologist misdiagnosed her and just gave ordinary ointments/medicines for her rash and blisters. So it took a while before they healed after consulting another doctor just because she missed the 72 hours window before taking antiviral drugs etc. to treat shingles.

The pain (postherpetic neuralgia) on the other hand lasted even after the rash disappeared, it took a month before the pain went away. But for some people this may take three months.

As I was doing my research, it seems that there is one common symptom to look out for… a rash of blisters; my mom is no exemption.

Sadly, there are other symptoms together with the rash. Below are what I have found, not all are expected to be present on someone who has shingles. My mom only had a few of them the first time she had it; she felt weak or had low energy, backache and of course the itchiness of the rash. And then INTENSE pain even after the shingles are gone.

Herpes Zoster (shingles) Symptoms

  • Itchy Red Rash
  • Blisters
  • Muscle Aches (backache)
  • Weakness (low energy)
  • Fever
  • Nausea
  • Nasal Discharge
  • Loss of Appetite
  • Difficulty in urinating
  • Irritability
  • Abdominal Pain
  • Headaches
  • Diarrhea/Constipation
  • Eye Irritations
  • Throat Irritation
  • Vomiting
  • Coughing
  • Impaired Breathing

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Oct 09

Do You Still Need Shingles Vaccine If You’ve Already Suffered an Outbreak of Shingles?

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Do I Still Need To Have Shingles VaccineThere are articles that advises people to take the shingles vaccine even if they already have shingles. This is to lessen the severity and duration of the disease.

But if you think about it, if you already had measles for example… do you still need to have a shot of measles vaccine? Supposedly your body should have already created anti-bodies for it right? Well, that is usually the case. But this herpes zoster is really strange, it’s just the chickenpox virus when you were young and now back when your immune system is weak.

I don’t know if this is just another money making scheme of manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, local pharmacies  to encourage people to take the vaccine that only promises 51% chance of preventing the disease.

On the other hand, thinking about the possible complications and the pain this disease will cause… will it be worth to take the vaccine? Probably yes, if you don’t have any options. But boosting your immune system with natural remedies in my opinion is probably still the best (in the case of my mom).

A lot of studies still needs to be done on this vaccine.

If you already had shingles and then had a shot of this vaccine, would you mind sharing your story with us? Please leave a reply and help our readers.

To you and our loved one’s health! – Chazper

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