Shingles Herpes Zoster

1. ShinglesHerpes Zoster By: Sarah Alvarez

2. What is Shingles? Shingles is a rash that appears on any part of the body It causes pain, discomfort and blisters. The medical term is Herpes Zoster but is not the same as genital herpes or herpes mouth sores.

3. What is the cause? Shingles comes from the same virus as the chicken pox which is Varicella Zoster Once a person contracts the chicken pox, the virus can live in the human body for 50-60 years and environmental or health factors can cause the virus to reappear in the form of Shingles in the sensory nerve fibers. Immune deficiency, stress, cancer, aging and severe illness are factors that trigger the reappearance of the virus. Only those who have had chicken pox before can contract the disease.

4. Symptoms Before the appearance of any physical symptoms there is sensitive skin and burning sensations. Then small blisters form along the nerves of the affected area. Some areas may have many blisters while other areas may have none. The blisters pop and ooze and the skin crusts over and begins to heal. New blisters form every 3-5 days and the process can last up to 4 weeks. In some cases blisters may never form.

5. Diagnosis Usually diagnosis can be determined by the physical appearance of the skin because not many diseases look like Shingles. Diagnosis tests can be preformed to be sure. Fluid from the blister is taken and the cells are analyzed. Those with Herpes Zoster have very large cells with many dark nuclei. There is also a test called the Tzanck test where a viral culture is taken from a lesions.

6. Is it contagious? Shingles is contagious and can be spread when there are blisters on the skin. If a person has Shingles and comes in contact with a person who has never had the chicken pox, then the virus manifests as the chicken pox. If the person has already had the chicken pox then Shingles cannot be spread. Once the blisters have crusted over there is no risk of spreading.

7. Treatment There is currently no cure for Shingles. For the pain over the counter pain medications can be taken as well as prescribed pain medications. To limit the duration of the blisters, antiviral such as Zovirax and Famvir can be prescribed as well as steroids. The affected area should be kept dry and covered. You should bathe with soap and water to clean with blisters. Aluminum acetate solutions can also be used to dry the blisters.

8. Prevention There is no way to prevent Shingles except for making sure you don�t come into contact with someone who has fresh blisters. There is a new vaccine that was introduced by Merrick & Co. named Zostavax. It has been proven successful in preventing half the cases of those who received the injection. It also reduced 2/3 the number of cases of postherpetic nastalgia. Also the intake of micronutrients has been proven to reduce the risk of contraction.

9. Complications In some rare cases there can be serious complications due to the contraction of Shingles. For example if you get Shingles on your face it is possible that your vision will be affected. In any area, the blisters can become infected and produce cellulitus. There is also postherpetic neuralgia which is where the pain persists for longer than 1 month. It usually occurs in the elderly (50+) and is caused by the irritation of nerves. The pain can be debilitating.

10. Questions 1. Shingles come from the same virus as the chicken pox. False True 2. Shingles is contagious Always Never Only when there are new blisters 3. There are no serious complications when you contract Shingles? A)True B) False