Shingles
What is Shingles?
Shingles is a localized infection due to the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox.It most commonly occurs in older people but it can affect children too. After an attack of chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus move away to nerve cells in the body, where it may lie dormant for decades. But under certain conditions, usually related to aging or disease, the virus can reactivate and begin to reproduce. Once activated, the virus moves along the path of a nerve to the skin's surface, where it causes shingles.
People with shingles may feel numbness, tingling, itching, or a stabbing pain before the rash appears. Pain may come first, but when the virus finally reaches the skin the rash come into view as a band or patch of raised dots on the side of the trunk or face.
The virus infects the skin cells and creates a painful, red rash that looks like chickenpox. It then develops into small, fluid-filled blisters which break open, and form crusty scabs. In about four or five weeks, the disease runs its course, the scabs drop off, the skin heals, and the pain fades. When the rash is at its peak, symptoms can range from minor itching to extreme and intense pain. Most healthy individuals make pleasant recovery. Doctors can distinguish shingles from chickenpox by the way the spots are distributed.
Elderly people whose immune system is weakened are more prone to shingles. The reasons for having a weak immune system, including HIV infection, periods of increased stress, excess alcohol intake, long term courses of steroids, cancer treatments or medicines used after organ transplants.
Shingles Symptoms
The shingles symptoms begin with increased sensitivity of skin along with a burning pain. Some patients may also experience tickling or tingling along with numbness in the areas. In such a stage it is often difficult to determine the reason for the pain. The areas that are typically affected include the head, abdomen, neck, face and arm or leg. In rare cases areas of the face like the nose and eyes may also be affected.Along with tingling of skin patients also tend to experience other problems like stomach ache, chills, diarrhea along with fever. Individuals may also experience tenderness in the lymph node areas in the initial stages. The shingles symptoms include a typical rash that starts with eruption of small blisters for a period of 3 to 5 days. These blisters erupt on a patch of red skin. The blisters tend to follow the individual nerve path areas and therefore tend to have a belt or band like appearance. In most cases only a single nerve level is involved and in rare cases multiple nerves may be involved.
With time the blisters fill with fluid and this fluid is initially clear but then it becomes cloudy in around 3 to 4 days. These blisters then pop and the area starts to ooze. Eventually the affected area crusts over and then heals. This outbreak may last for around three to four weeks. In some cases the blisters may not be observed as a part of shingles symptoms and yet intense pain may be experienced. In such cases diagnosis becomes problematic. Shingles is contagious and can be transmitted to other people but these individuals will develop chicken pox.
