What is shingles?

Shingles is a painful rash caused by the Varicella zostervirus (Herpes varicellae), which is the virus that causes chickenpox. Shingles occurs in people who have had chickenpox and is a reactivation of the dormant virus. Shingles often occurs long after the initial chickenpox infection maybe years. Shingles is contagious and may itself cause chickenpox. However, contact with a person with shingles or chickenpox cannot cause shingles.

The causes shingles

After the chickenpox virus has been contracted, it travels from the skin along the nerve paths to the roots of the nerves where it becomes inactive. The chickenpox virus then 'hibernates'. When the virus is reactivated, it travels via the nerve paths to the skin. It is not known what factors trigger a reactivation of the virus. Shingles generally affects the elderly, but occasionally occurs in children who have had chickenpox within the first year of their lives and in people with an immune deficiency.

Shingles can be a sign of immunodeficiency, caused by HIV or chemotherapy, stress, long time after sickness for example, but most people who get shingles have a normal immune system.

What are the symptoms?

Shingles causes a painful, blistering rash. Sometimes the pain starts a few days before the rash appears.

The rash begins with reddish bumps. In a few days, these bumps turn into blisters. You might feel a stinging or burning pain. The rash may wrap around your back and chest, or it may be on one side of your face.

The blisters usually crust over and fall off after 7 to 10 days. You may see changes in the color of your skin when the scabs fall off. In bad cases of shingles, these color changes last forever.

Even though the rash gets better or goes away in a few weeks, the pain may last longer. In most people, the pain goes away in 1 to 3 months.

Shingle can also affect your eyes, causing swollen eyelids, redness and pain. Shingles of the eye can cause scars that affect your vision. It can also lead to glaucoma later in life. Glaucoma is an eye disease that can cause blindness. People who have shingles of the eye should see an eye doctor right away.

The prevention.

You cannot do much to avoid shingles. It is not caught from contact with someone with shingles or with chickenpox.

If you have shingles you should stay away from other people until the blisters have dried (usually about seven days), as there are virus particles in the blister fluid. The risk is that people who have not had chickenpox might catch that from you.

Those at particular risk are people whose immune system is not functioning normally (who are immunocompromised), as for example in people on steroids, chemotherapy for cancer or those with transplants, so do try to avoid contact with people in these categories if you have shingles.

Diagnosis

The patient's medical history in combination with the appearance of the rash will usually be sufficient for making a diagnosis. If necessary, a scrape from the blisters can help identify the virus. A blood sample can also be used to confirm the initial diagnosis.

What happens if it gets worse?

The rash can become infected by bacteria. An attack of shingles near the eyes, or at the top of the nose can be associated with scarring on the cornea, affecting vision. Shingles on the face can, in rare cases, lead to a temporary hearing loss, facial paralysis and a reduced sense of taste.

Future prospects

Shingles is rarely serious. In about 90 per cent of patients, the attack normally subsides within a week after the appearance of the first symptoms if it gets treated immediately. Otherwise they may suffer for months. Most people only have one or two attacks. Elderly people in particular may continue to feel intense pain, even after the attack seems to have subsided. These could goes on for months of pain and may cause depression.

Although antiviral medicines can be used, they must be started as soon as possible when the burning sensation begins. Once the rash has been present for more than 48 hours, treatment will be of reduced value usually not much relief. The medicine can reduce the duration of the attack and prevent it spreading. The best still is to send for special ancient herbal medicine. If simple analgesics have not been effective, you have to take some ancient prescription, we can send to your home by international delivery.

ACUPUNCTURE SHINGLES RESEARCH HERBAL