A Simple Guide to Shingles

A Simple Guide to Shingles
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What is Shingles?
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Shingles or Herpes zoster is a condition where a crop of blisters caused by the varicella zoster virus form a band across one side of the chest, abdomen or face.

What is the cause of shingles?
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The same virus that causes chicken pox causes shingles.
The chickenpox virus remains in a dormant state in certain nerve cells of the body from months to many years, and then reactivates, causing shingles.

This infection is due to a temporary decrease in the body's resistance, allowing the virus to start multiplying and to move along nerve fibres towards the skin.

Who are the People at risk of getting Shingles?
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About 1 in 10 people who had chickenpox as children will develop shingles as adults.
The disease occurs
1.more often in older people (over 50 years old) because the immune response is believed to be weaker in older people.

2.Trauma or possibly stress may also contribute to an attack of shingles.

3.Weakened Immune system people like those with cancer, eg. Leukaemia, lymphoma, undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer, patients with organ transplants and taking drugs to ward off transplant rejection and patients with diseases that lowers the immune system eg. AIDS.

What are the symptoms of shingles?
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The first symptom is a burning pain or tingling and extreme sensitivity in one area of the skin.
This may be present for one to three days before a red rash occurs.
A group of blisters then forms on a red base which looks like chicken pox lesions.
The blisters generally last for two to three weeks, during which time they accumulate pus and then crust over and begin to disappear.

The pain may last longer for a month or longer.
A slight discoloration or scarring of the skin is also possible.

How severe is the pain of Shingles?
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The pain is usually severe enough for the doctor to prescribe painkillers.
A long-lasting painful complication of shingles called post-herpetic neuralgia occurs in some older patients.
This may last long after the shingles have healed.
For these people the slightest touch or contact with clothing can be unbearable.

Where do shingles appear on the body?
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Shingles generally affect only one side of the body.

Most commonly, blisters will appear on the chest or abdomen, including the buttocks and genitalia, and even the face.

If the blisters involve the eye region, permanent eye damage can result.
Your doctor will refer you immediately to an eye specialist when such a complication develops.

What are the complications of Shingles?
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Post-herpetic neuralgia, a condition in which either constant or episodic pain persists for a long time after the skin has healed.
About 50% of affected patients are over the age of 60 years.
The chronic pain is believed to be due the damage to nerve endings.

People who suffer this long-term pain may experience psychological suffering such as depression, insomnia and weight loss.

Infection of the blisters by bacteria can also cause delayed healing of the skin.
Antibiotic treatment is needed.

If the shingles affects the forehead, sometimes inflammation of ophthalmic nerve of the eye may occur. It may cause severe pain in the eye and cause blindness. Damage to the cornea may also occur.

If the shingles affect the the ear, it may cause pain, tinnitus (buzzing sound in the ear), dizziness, loss of hearing or an increased risk of spread to the brain.

In patients with weakened immune systems, there may be high fever and spread of the disease all over the body.

Is shingles contagious?
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Shingles is much less contagious than chicken pox.
People with shingles can spread the virus if blisters are broken to someone who has never had chicken pox or who is already ill.

The people who are at risk include babies and those who already are ill such as cancer patients.
These people will develop chickenpox.

How severe is the pain of Shingles?
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The pain is usually severe enough for the doctor to prescribe painkillers.
A long-lasting painful complication of shingles called post-herpetic neuralgia occurs in some older patients. This may last long after the shingles have healed.
For these people the slightest touch or contact with clothing can be unbearable.

Does Shingles cause much scarring?
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Shingles can result in scarring if the blisters are infected or if the patients have used toxic home remedies on the blisters.

Some Chinese physicians believe that a snake in the skin causes the disease and the head of the snake must be burned with chemicals in order to stop the snake from growing.

How is shingles treated?
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In most cases Shingles clears on its own in a few weeks and seldom recurs.

Treatment consists of painkillers, as well as cool compresses to help dry the blisters.

Antibiotics are given if there is bacterial infection.

The antiviral drug, acyclovir, may be given especially for patients with eye involvement or who are very ill.
It is useful only if it is started early in the disease.
The earlier it is taken after the disease begins the better the effect.
The drug might prevent post-herpetic neuralgia.
Post-herpetic neuralgia can be treated with painkillers and high doses of tranquilisers at night.

A Simple Guide to Chickenpox

A Simple Guide to Chickenpox
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What is Chickenpox?
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Chickenpox is a mild illness common among children but can occur at any age.
A fever appears followed by an itchy rash of spots that look like blisters all over the body on the second or third day and may be accompanied by flu-like symptoms.

What causes Chickenpox?
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Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus.

What are the Symptoms of Chickenpox?
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Chickenpox usually starts with a mild fever of 37.7 - 38.8 Celsus with or without headache.

It is followed by a red, itchy rash on the skin that usually appears first on the abdomen or back and face, and then spreads to almost everywhere else on the body.
The rash begins as multiple small, red bumps and rapidly develop into thin-walled blisters filled with clear fluid, which becomes cloudy. The blister wall breaks, leaving open sores, which finally crust over to become dry, brown scabs.

Chickenpox blisters can also occur in the mouth causing pain and discomfort when eating.

Some children have abdominal pain, sore throat, headache,and in some cases a severe cough.

Younger children often have milder symptoms and fewer blisters than older children or adults.

When is Chickenpox contagious?
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Chickenpox is contagious from about 2 days before the rash appears and lasts until all the blisters are crusted over.
A child with chickenpox should be kept out of school until all blisters have dried, usually about 10 days.
Chickenpox is very contagious — most kids with a sibling who's been infected will get it as well, showing symptoms about 2 weeks after the first child does.
To help keep the virus from spreading, make sure your children wash their hands frequently, particularly before eating and after using the bathroom.
And keep a child with chickenpox away from unvaccinated siblings as much as possible.

Pregnant women and anyone with immune system problems should not be near a person with chickenpox. If a pregnant woman who hasn't had chickenpox in the past contracts it (especially in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy), the fetus is at risk for birth defects. If she develops chickenpox just before or after the child is born, the newborn is at risk for serious health complications.

How to avoid getting Chickenpox?
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Since May 2006, after FDA approval of the vaccine, Doctors recommend that kids receive the chickenpox vaccine when they are 12 to 15 months old and a booster shot at 4 to 6 years old. The vaccine is about 70% to 85% effective at preventing mild infection, and more than 95% effective in preventing moderate to severe forms of the infection.
Healthy children who have had chickenpox do not need the vaccine — they usually have lifelong protection against the illness.

How to treat Chickenpox?
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Treatment of Virus:A virus causes chickenpox, so the doctor won't prescribe antibiotics. However, antibiotics may be required if the sores become infected by bacteria.

The antiviral medicine acyclovir may be prescribed for people with chickenpox who are at risk for complications. The drug, which can make the infection less severe, must be given within the first 24 hours after the rash appears.

Treatment of Symptoms:You can help relieve the itchiness, fever, and discomfort of chickenpox by:

1.Using cool wet compresses or giving baths in cool or lukewarm water every 3 to 4 hours for the first few days.

2.Patting (not rubbing) the body dry.

3.Putting calamine lotion on itchy areas or acyclovir cream lightly over the rashes

4.Giving your child foods that are soft and bland because chickenpox in the mouth may make drinking or eating difficult.

5.Make the child drink lots of fluids

6. Anti itch medicine like antihistamine or pain relieving medicine like paracetamol may be given to relieve itch or pain.

7.As much as possible, discourage scratching. This can be difficult for the child, so consider putting mittens or socks on your child's hands to prevent scratching during sleep. In addition, trim fingernails and keep them clean to help lessen the effects of scratching, including broken blisters and infection.

What are the complications of Chickenpox?
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Typically, chickenpox is a mild illness, but can affect some infants, teens, adults, and people with weak immune systems more severely.
Some people can develop serious bacterial infections involving the skin(especially in children with eczema), lungs(pneumonia) and the brain (encephalitis).

What is the outlook for Chickenpox?
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Most children recovered completely from chickenpox within 7-14 days of the onset of symptoms.
Adults may take a longer time to recover(10-21 days) and the symptoms are more severe.
Pox marks due to infections of the skin and deep scratching of blisters may remain and serve as a reminder of chickenpox.

A person usually has only one episode of chickenpox, but the virus can lie dormant within the body and cause a different type of skin eruption later in life called shingles (or herpes zoster).