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Shingles is an infection caused by a virus that causes a painful rash. Although shingles can appear anywhere on your body, it is most commonly seen as a single stripe of blisters wrapping around either the left or right side of your torso.
Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is also responsible for chickenpox. The virus becomes inactive in nerve tissue near your spinal cord and brain after you've had chickenpox. The virus may reactivate as shingles years later.
Shingles is not a life-threatening disease, but it can be excruciatingly painful. Vaccines can help reduce the chances of getting shingles. Early treatment can help to shorten the duration of a shingles infection and reduce the likelihood of complications. The most common complication is postherpetic neuralgia, which causes shingles pain even after the blisters have healed.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF SHINGLES?
Shingles symptoms typically affect only a small portion of one side of your body. Among these signs and symptoms are:
- Experiencing pain, burning, numbness, or tingling?
- Touch sensitivity
- A red rash that appears a few days after the pain has subsided.
- Blisters filled with fluid that rupture and crust over
- Itching
Some people also have:
- Fever
- Headache
- Light sensitivity
- Fatigue
The most common symptom of shingles is pain. It can be intense for some. Depending on the location of the pain, it can be misdiagnosed as a symptom of heart, lung, or kidney problems. Some people have shingles pain but never develop the rash.
The shingles rash typically appears as a stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or right side of your torso. The shingles rash can appear around one eye, on one side of the neck, or on one side of the face.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF SHINGLES
Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is also responsible for chickenpox. Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of developing shingles. The virus enters your nervous system after you recover from chickenpox and remains dormant for years.
It may eventually reactivate and travel along nerve pathways to your skin, resulting in shingles. However, not everyone who has chickenpox develops shingles.
The cause of shingles is unknown. However, it is possible that this is due to a decrease in immunity to infections as you get older. Shingles is more common in older people and those with compromised immune systems.
Varicella-zoster virus is a type of herpes virus, which also includes viruses that cause cold sores and genital herpes. As a result, shingles is also known as herpes zoster. However, the virus responsible for chickenpox and shingles is not the same virus that causes cold sores or genital herpes, a sexually transmitted infection.
Are you contagious?
Anyone who has shingles can spread the varicella-zoster virus to others who aren't immune to chickenpox. This is usually caused by direct contact with the shingles rash's open sores. Once infected, the person will get chickenpox but not shingles.
Some people are at risk from chickenpox. You are contagious until your shingles blisters scab over, so avoid physical contact with anyone who hasn't had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine, especially people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, and newborns.
WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS OF SHINGLES?
Shingles can affect anyone who has ever had chickenpox. Before the introduction of the routine childhood vaccination that now protects against chickenpox, most adults in the United States had chickenpox as children.
The following factors may increase your risk of developing shingles:
- Being over the age of 50: Shingles is more common in people over the age of 50. With age, the risk increases.
- Having specific diseases: HIV/AIDS and cancer, both of which weaken your immune system, can increase your risk of shingles.
- Undergoing cancer treatments: Radiation or chemotherapy can weaken your immune system and cause shingles.
- Taking specific medications: Drugs used to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs, as well as prolonged use of steroids such as prednisone, can increase your risk of shingles.
WHAT ARE THE COMPLICATIONS OF SHINGLES?
Shingles complications can include:
- Postherpetic neuralgia: Some people experience shingles pain long after the blisters have healed. Postherpetic neuralgia is a condition that occurs when damaged nerve fibers send confused and exaggerated pain messages from your skin to your brain.
- Loss of vision: Shingles in or around the eye (ophthalmic shingles) can cause painful eye infections and vision loss.
- Neurological issues: Shingles can cause brain inflammation (encephalitis), facial paralysis, or hearing or balance problems depending on which nerves are affected.
- Infections of the skin: Bacterial skin infections can develop if shingles blisters are not properly treated.
HOW IS SHINGLES DIAGNOSED?
Shingles is typically diagnosed based on a history of pain on one side of the body, as well as the characteristic rash and blisters. Your doctor may also take a tissue scraping or a culture of the blisters for laboratory examination.
WHAT ARE THE TREATMENTS FOR SHINGLES?
Although there is no cure for shingles, prompt treatment with prescription antiviral medications can speed healing and reduce your risk of complications. Among these medications are:
- Acyclovir (Zovirax)
- Famciclovir
- Valacyclovir (Valtrex)
Because shingles can cause excruciating pain, your doctor may also prescribe:
- Capsaicin topical patch (Qutenza)
- Anticonvulsants, such as gabapentin (Neurontin)
- Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline
- Numbing agents, such as lidocaine, are applied to the skin in the form of a cream, gel, spray, or patch.
- narcotic-containing medications, such as codeine
- An injection containing corticosteroids as well as local anesthetics
Shingles typically lasts two to six weeks. The majority of people only get shingles once, but it is possible to get it twice or more.
HOW CAN SHINGLES BE PREVENTED?
A shingles vaccine may aid in the prevention of shingles.
People who are eligible should get the Shingrix vaccine in the United States.
Shingrix was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States in 2017. According to studies, Shingrix provides shingles protection for more than five years. Shingrix is a virus-based vaccine that is not alive. It is administered in two doses, with a gap of 2-6 months between them.
Shingrix is approved and recommended for people over the age of 50, including those who have previously received the Zostavax vaccine or who have had shingles.
The Zostavax vaccine is no longer available in the United States, but it may still be used in other countries.
Redness, pain, tenderness, swelling, and itching at the injection site, as well as headaches, are the most common side effects of either shingles vaccine.
The shingles vaccine does not ensure that you will not develop shingles. However, this vaccine is likely to shorten the course and severity of the disease, as well as lower your risk of postherpetic neuralgia.
The shingles vaccine is only used as a preventative measure. It is not intended to treat people who are already infected with the disease. Consult your doctor to determine which option is best for you.