Shingles are a second-step disease that generally arises after chickenpox. It is a viral infection caused by the virus, varicella-zoster. Anyone who had chickenpox in their past is more vulnerable to shingles. Shingles cause a painful rash anywhere on your body, rashes arise either on the left side or right side of your body. In chickenpox, blister-like rashes arise on your skin, back, chest, and face, and then they spread to all body. After chickenpox gets treated, the virus still lives in nerve tissue in the central nervous system in an inactive form and gets activated again in form of shingles.
Shingles is characterized by red skin rash on one side of the body that causes pain and burning. Shingles arise in form of the stripe of blisters on one side of the body. Mostly, Shingles get treated within 3-6 weeks.
Shingles can be treated easily if they get detected in time. It is not a life-threatening disease. Almost all of the children got vaccines for chickenpox which reduces the risk of shingles.
Symptoms
If shingles get detected in early signs then it can be treated easily within 2-4 days. General signs and symptoms of shingles are given below. Shingles mainly affect one side of the body which starts from the small area then spread throughout.
- Red rashes either on right side or left side of the body.
- Pain and burning sensation
- Fever, headache
- Itching
- Shingles on buttocks
- Area become more sensitivity to touch
- Stripe of blisters
- Swollen lymph nodes
Some others are:
- Headache
- Restlessness
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
Consult a doctor immediately if you get any of these signs.
Causes of Shingles
Shingles is a viral infection caused by the virus, varicella-zoster. Anyone who had chickenpox in their past is more vulnerable to shingles. Shingles can occur in children as well as adults also. In chickenpox, blister-like rashes arise on your skin, back, chest, and face, and then they spread to all body.
After chickenpox gets treated, the virus still lives in nerve tissue in the central nervous system in an inactive form and gets activated again in form of shingles. Therefore, Anyone who’s encountered chickenpox in past may develop shingles. But it is not compulsory that everyone who’s had chickenpox will develop shingles. It may happen due to lowered immunity toward viruses as you grow older. Old age people are more vulnerable to Shingles.
Some other possible reasons for shingles are
- weakened immune system
- Emotional stress
- aging
- undergoing some major surgery
Complications
Complications from shingles include:
- Vision loss. Sometimes, shingles get spread around the eyes and cause eye infection. Due to which people face difficulty in vision and may loss vision.
- Postherpetic neuralgia. It occurs when nerve tissue get damaged and unable to send signals to your brain. In this condition nerve fibre send confused message of pain from skin to brain.
- Neurological problems. Shingles can also cause neurological problems such as encephalotis, paralysis, motor problems.
- Skin infections. Skin infection due to rashes or blisters. If this rashes doesn’t get treated well then it can cause bacterial skin infections.
Who is at risk of shingles
Generally old age people are more vulnerable to shingles and some others are:-
- Had chickenpox in their past
- Old age people
- Who has weaker immune system
- Who has cancer, HIV or AIDS.
- Have shingles before
- Who use excessive steroids which weakens the immune
Stages of shingles
It occurs on one side of body - From tingle
- burn
- feel numb
- And then itching
Prevention
The vaccine may help to prevent shingles.
- Bath regularly with cool water
- Cleaning your skin regularly
- Use calamine lotions on itching areas.
- Apply wet cold equipment to reduce heat on rashes
- Increase intake of Vitamin A,C,E and B12
