What is Shingles?

Written by Barbara Messner

Shingles is a viral disease you can only get if you’d had chicken pox, and it’s on the rise. How long has it been since you’ve heard, or thought, of the ailment known as Shingles? I would guess that it has been quite a long while. At least it was until it just recently started cropping up in health news articles and commercials. It seems to be making an unfortunate comeback. I say unfortunate because it can be a very painful disease. My own brother can attest to that fact personally, having had Shingles in the past year.

Shingles Definition

Shingles is also known as Herpes Zoster and is a disease caused by the Chickenpox virus. If you are one of the nine out of ten adults in the United States that have had Chickenpox you could get Shingles.

However, Shingles is a very unpredictable disease. There is no guarantee, even if all the ‘right’ things are in place, that you will - or will not, get Shingles. When you have had Chickenpox the virus stays in your body, lodging on a nerve root. It takes the right combination of circumstances for that leftover marker to turn into Shingles.

What Activates Shingles?

Stress is thought to be a common factor or trigger for Shingles. Yet not all people who have had Chickenpox and get stressed, develop Shingles. There are other mitigating factors. It depends on your immune system, your increasing age – and still, with all the triggers in place, you may or may not get Shingles.

Who Is At Risk For Shingles?

Shingles normally strikes adults sixty years of age and older. As you age, the chances of your getting Shingles grows too. However, that doesn’t mean people younger than sixty have immunity to the disease; they just don’t get Shingles as often as their elders.

Shingles is contagious during the time the blisters have a clear fluid or before the rash has scabbed over and then only through contact with the blisters or rash. This means a child or someone who has never had Chickenpox can get them from someone with a weeping Shingles rash. One of the things a person can do to help deter someone else contacting any form of the disease is to cover the blisters and rash with a light covering so no one can accidently come in contact with the direct sores.

Shingles Symptoms

Some of the beginning symptoms of the disease are close to the flu symptoms. Fever for four or five days, headache, physical fatigue, tummy problems, sudden chills, and then itching may start on any area of the body. Rash or blisters may appear.

Shingles is a very uncomfortable disease with the itching, burning rash and the blisters and pain that accompany the disease. You could be one of the lucky ones and have just one small rash patch or you could end up with rash all over your body. It can last from a few days to several months.

Treatment Options

There are treatments available for Shingles. Treatment should be sought within 72 hours of noticing the symptoms. The treatments consist mainly of skin creams and pain killers. Unfortunately, the treatment doesn’t completely take away the uncomfortable symptoms or pain. Like most medical conditions, there are new medicines being developed or discovered all the time to treat Shingles. Lately I’ve seen several ads on the Internet for the relief of Shingle symptoms and pain. These remedies are available without a prescription. If you have Shingles, doctors recommend you stay out of direct sunlight. Like Chickenpox, you need to refrain from scratching the area.

Complications

Further difficulties may arise from the Shingles. Postherpetic Neuralgia or PHN can occur. PHN is long term nerve pain. The pain of Shingles usually starts to subside with the healing of the rash. But sometimes the pain can last for months and years after the rash has disappeared. This long term pain is what is known as PHN. PHN requires additional medicine and treatment added to the Shingles treatment.

There are other serious conditions that can develop from Shingles. We seldom hear about these possibilities or even the treatment or pain that goes along with this very serious and complicated disease. Complications can result in eyesight loss, hearing problems, pneumonia, internal organ problems, and even inflammation of the brain. Further, complications from pneumonia or brain inflammation can result in death.

Take It Seriously

All the pain and uncomfortable symptoms of Shingles added to the possible complications mean this disease should be taken very seriously. If you get Shingles once, you can get it again. Repeat cases happen frequently. If you think you have Shingles, make sure you see your doctor and follow medical advice. Remember you are contagious and act accordingly.

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