What is Shingles

Herpes zoster, also known as the "shingles", a viral disease is depicted by skin rashes that hurt, that is accompanied by blisters one some areas of your body, usually on one side often appearing in a stripe like form. Happening typically in children and young adults, the initial infection sets off serious chickenpox, and once this is cured, continues on to cause shingles.

The virus that begins with that chicken pox illness can become dormant showing no symptoms. If an individual who is unable to develop a normal immune response would, perhaps after years or decades of getting the chickenpox infection, the virus may break of its original "home" and would cause infection on the skin. Most times the rash would heal from two to four weeks, some individuals encounter lingering nerve pain for a longer time period, and this is called "postherpetic neuralgia".

Worldwide, this problem would range from 1.2 to 3.4 cases for every thousand fit individuals per year, and would increase from 3.9 - 11.8 cases for every thousand people 65 years and above. Based on study, the antiviral treatment can decrease the seriousness and duration of herpes zoster, i.e. if you start a seven to ten day course of these drugs is started within the first 3 days of the appearance of the characteristic rash.

Shingles, as mentioned, is caused by virus that causes this rash, which is what causes chickenpox as well. Once you have had the chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. As you get older, you might have shingles, but in contrast to chickenpox, you won't catch shingles from someone who has it.

When you have the shingles, early on, you would notice these symptoms, and these would include a burning or shooting pain, at times, a tingling or itchy feeling, These different sensations would usually be noticed and felt on only one side of your body or on one part of you face. You would suffering from a mild to critical feelings. Your body, or the part that would have this blistering feeling, or the itchy part would form blisters and the duration would last from a week to two. The negative part of having the shingles is that should it appear on your face, your vision or hearing might be affected. Unfortunately, the pain is long lasting, just because you lose the blisters physically on any part of your body, you won't lose the pain felt in your body.

Sad to say this as well, there has been no noted cure for the shingles. The best way to fight it is early treatment. If and when you notice these warning signs, take time to visit your doctor, and start with medication, and doing this may fight the virus early on. Not only will taking medication help, it will also aid in assuaging the lingering pain. Vaccination, which is another option, may put off the shingles or reduce its effects. But you have to know that vaccination would only be applicable for people 60 or over.