What is Shingles?
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. It is also known as herpes zoster. Shingles often appears as a band of blisters that wraps from the middle of your back around one side of your chest to your breastbone. Other parts of your body can be involved as well, including your neck, face or scalp.
Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you've had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive (dormant) in your nerves. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles.
Shingles isn't a life-threatening condition, but it can be very painful. Sometimes, the rash leads to a debilitating complication called postherpetic neuralgia. This condition causes the skin to remain painful and sensitive to touch for months or even years after the rash clears up.
Symptoms
Signs of shingles may include:
*Pain, burning, tingling, numbness or extreme sensitivity in a certain part of your body
*A red rash that begins a few days after the pain
*Fluid-filled blisters that break open and crust over
*Itching
*Fever and chills
*Headache
*Upset stomach or abdominal pain
Usually, the shingles rash occurs on only one side of your body. This is an important sign to help diagnose shingles. It may appear as a band of blisters that wraps from the middle of your back around one side of your chest to your breastbone, following the path of the nerve where the virus had been inactive. Sometimes, the shingles rash occurs around one eye or on one side of the neck or face.
Pain is usually the first symptom of shingles. For some, it can be intense, with just the slightest touch causing severe pain. Sometimes the pain can be mistaken for other problems or diseases, such as kidney stones, gallstones or appendicitis, depending on its location. Some people experience the pain without the rash, which makes diagnosing shingles more difficult.
Prevention
The CDC recommends the shingles shot (Zostavax) for people 60 and older to prevent shingles. Anyone 60 years of age or older should get the shingles vaccine, regardless of whether they recall having had chickenpox or not. Studies show that more than 99% of Americans ages 40 and older have had chickenpox, even if they don’t remember getting the disease. People who have had shingles can receive the shingles vaccine to help prevent future occurrences of the disease.
For more information, or to schedule an appointment for the Shingles shot,
call Kenosha VNA at 262-656-8400.
Risk factors
Anyone who has recovered from chickenpox may develop shingles, including children. However, shingles most commonly occurs in people 50 years old and older. The risk of getting shingles increases as a person gets older. People who have medical conditions that keep the immune system from working properly, like cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or people who receive immunosuppressive drugs, such as steroids and drugs given after organ transplantation are also at greater risk to get shingles.
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600 52nd Street, Suite 300
Kenosha, WI 53140
262 656 8400