Shingles is an acute infectious disease caused by the same virus as chickenpox. The symptoms of herpes zoster are primarily a characteristic rash and severe pain. Who can get shingles? What are the forms of the disease and how is shingles treated? Is shingles contagious and does the disease have serious complications?

What is shingles?

Shingles (Latinzoster ) is a very unpleasant disease that can affect anyone .The symptoms of shinglesand chicken pox are different, but both are caused by the same virus -Herpesvirus varicella zoster(Human Herpesvirus-3 - HHV-3). It gets into our body by droplets, which means that it is enough for the sick person to sneeze or cough in our company and the trouble is ready.

Shinglesis not common in children. The risk of developingshinglesincreases with age - it increases after the age of 50. It also increases in cancer patients, transplant recipients or HIV carriers.

Shingles once diagnosed most often gives immunity for the rest of your life. signals cancer, "the development of this disease is not cancer. Nevertheless, the recurrence of shingles should mobilize for a thorough research for neoplastic diseases (lymphomas, leukemia) and diseases related to decreased immunity.

What are the symptoms of shingles?

Often the first symptoms of shingles are very uncharacteristic and may indicate a common cold.

Shingles symptoms:

  • sore throat
  • elevated temperature
  • weakness
  • later, at the site of activation of the virus, the sensory nerve and the skin innervated by it become inflamed. The most common symptom of this is pain along the affected nerve. The pain is sharp, burning, and often very intense.
  • after 2-3 days on the skin in the painful area there is a vesicular rash with an inflammatory reaction of the skin (this is most common, but shingles, although very rarely, may also be without a rash). It may take approximately 4 days for new follicles to arrive. As in chickenpox, the vesicles transform into pimples that dry up after a few days inscabs.
  • shingleson the face is very rare - skin lesions appear most often on the trunk, less often on the arm or leg. It is characteristic that they only appear on one half of the body, hence the name of the disease - shingles. The rash itches, but scratching does not bring relief becauseshinglesis a disease of the nerves, not the skin, and nerve cells are the source of the problem. Skin lesions cannot be scratched also because there is no bacterial superinfection in the morning.

Withherpes zosterwe usually do not have a high temperature, but we may suffer from a headache, general weakness, fatigue.

See what it looks likeShingles:

Shingles - types

  • eye shingles - ocular- lesions and ulcers may attack the conjunctiva and cornea - if specialist ophthalmic treatment is not started quickly, ophthalmic shingles may be complicated by paralysis of the nerve moving the eyeball (the effect of it happens then, for example, drooping eyelid), damage to the eyeball, and even loss of vision
  • herpes zoster - ear herpes zoster- the rash attacks the auricle, the ear canal, the eardrum, severe earaches appear, untreated herpes zoster may result in tinnitus or blunt hearing
  • generalized or disseminated shingles- characterized by disseminated lesions on the trunk (most often associated with lymphomas, neoplastic metastases)
  • gangrenous shingles- when there are ulcers after the pustules
  • haemorrhagic shingles- severe skin bleeding

What is the diagnosis and treatment?

Willshinglesgo by itself? Some patients rely on it and heal themselves. However, it is better not to risk it (untreatedshinglesmay lead to complications) and consult a doctor if symptoms occur. To find outherpes zoster , telepathing is not enough - the doctor must not only conduct a thorough interview, but also examine the rash. Only after such consultation may he recommend further proceedings.

The answer to the question "isshinglesis contagious" is:shinglesis a little contagious disease, but in order not to put others at risk stay at home for 2-3 weeks. There is no single effective treatment forshinglesand no shingles ointment. The doctor usually prescribes painkillers and antiviral drugs.

For the drug to be most effective, it should be started within the first 2 days of illness. Moreover, sometimes (whensuffering from severe pain) the doctor prescribes more injections of vitamin B1 and vitamin B12.

After about 2-3 weeksshinglespasses and usually never comes back.

The exception are people with very weakened immunity (e.g. patients with AIDS, undergoing chemotherapy).

It happens, especially in the elderly, that despite the healing of skin lesions, the pain still persists - this ispost-herpetic neuralgia . It may last for several months or even years. Prolonged, persistent neuralgia after the herpes zoster subsides is an indication for neurological treatment (then painkillers are administered, painful areas are irradiated using short-wave diathermy).

Complications of shingles

How the body deals with shingles depends largely on how well the immune system works. When it works flawlessly, the disease usually passes without a trace - only in individual cases it happens that the skin is left with scars or discoloration. The most common complications after shingles are related mainly to eyesight and hearing.

Severe complications of shingles include:

  • keratitis and uveitis
  • paralysis of the muscles moving the eyeball
  • vision loss
  • paralysis of the nerves responsible for the movement of the eyeball
  • partial hearing loss
  • facial nerve palsy

In the case of weakened immunity (e.g. in people after transplants or treated oncologically), it may occur, among others, to:

  • cranial nerve injuries
  • meningitis
  • encephalitis
  • disclosure of Guillain-Barré syndrome (damage to the sheaths of nerves - the so-called myelin - leading to paresis)

To prevent such complications, severely weakened people are usually treated forshinglesin hospital.Shingles, once contracted, most often gives immunity to the end of life.Re-contracting the disease should motivate to thorough research for neoplastic diseases (lymphomas, leukemia) and diseases related to immunodeficiency.

How do you get infected with shingles?

Chicken pox is a disease that affects mainly young children; disease it gives immunity for life. Unfortunately, it does not guarantee that you will not get shingles someday. This is because the insidious virus turns into a so-called a state of sleep in the ganglia of the sensory nerves near the spinal cord and is just waiting to attack us under favorable conditions. Such conditions arise when the body is weakened, e.g. during an infection in the road

Interestingly, an adult who did not suffer from chickenpox in childhood may developshinglesafter contact with a child suffering from smallpox. Therefore, you have to be extremely careful in such contacts.

Recurrent shingles

Expert's tip:

For 5 years I have been battling the shingles virus that haunts me almost every month. I was taking Heviran, I was using ointments - nothing helped. I have had back surgery in the lumbar region and this is where my rash develops. The itching and pain are so bad I don't know how to go on living with it.

Answer Elżbieta Szymańska, MD, PhDDermatologist-venereologist. He deals with classic and aesthetic dermatology. He works as a deputy manager in the Department of Dermatology at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior and as director of for medical matters, Center for Prevention and Therapy in Warsaw. Since 2011, he has been the scientific director of the Postgraduate Studies of the Medical University of Warsaw "Aesthetic Medicine".

If you suffer from recurrentshingles(very rarely so often), additional internal diagnostics is necessary.

The changes you describe may also correspond to recurrent herpes, especially due to their frequency.

Please visit your dermatologist or general practitioner again for detailed tests.

Pregnant shingles

Expert's tip:

How long is the incubation period for Shingles? I had smallpox in my childhood, now I'm 36 weeks pregnant and I found out that my mother's neighbor had shingles. I have not had contact with her, but I was seeing my mother who does not remember if she had smallpox but has no symptoms. Am I at risk of shingles, even though I haven't had direct contact with her?

Answer Dr. Barbara GrzechocińskaAssistant professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical University of Warsaw.

Shingles is less contagious compared to smallpox . After infection, the first symptoms appear after about 2 weeks. You can get infected by direct contact. If your mother does not get sick, so will you. You can now perform an antibody test. If you have ever had smallpox, they will certainly be present and will protect you against re-infection.

Shingles, kidney pain and rash

Expert's tip:

In mid-September, my husband's left kidney started to ache and he got a rash. The doctor gave him antiviral medicine and shingles cream. After three weeks, kidney pain and rash again. Again the medicineantivirus. On November 4, the kidney pain and rash returned. Canshingleslast that long?

Answer Elżbieta Szymańska, MD, PhDDermatologist-venereologist. He deals with classic and aesthetic dermatology. He works as a deputy manager in the Department of Dermatology at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior and as director of for medical matters, Center for Prevention and Therapy in Warsaw. Since 2011, he has been the scientific director of the Postgraduate Studies of the Medical University of Warsaw "Aesthetic Medicine".

Shingles may be recurrent.In the case of a relapsed form, the patient requires thorough diagnostics in order to verify the cause of such a phenomenon. Always consider other conditions such as cold sores, eczema and bacterial infections in the differential diagnosis of herpes zoster.

Shingles and sunbathing

Expert's tip:

I was diagnosed with shingles, taking an antibiotic. Can I go on vacation and be in the sun?

Answer Elżbieta Szymańska, MD, PhDDermatologist-venereologist. He deals with classic and aesthetic dermatology. He works as a deputy manager in the Department of Dermatology at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior and as director of for medical matters, Center for Prevention and Therapy in Warsaw. Since 2011, he has been the scientific director of the Postgraduate Studies of the Medical University of Warsaw "Aesthetic Medicine".

Until the skin lesions have completely disappeared (including traces of the disease) and the treatment is completed, it is necessary to avoid sun exposure.

Physical activity for shingles

Expert's tip:

I am currently undergoing treatment for herpes zoster. When is it possible to return to physical activity (of fairly high intensity), is it good to rest for a few more days immediately after recovery? I train triathlon so that physical exertion is associated with swimming, longer cycling and running routes in the open air.

The answer is Dr. Igor Michajłowski, MD, dermatologist, venereologist

You can return to physical activity only after complete recovery. Rest is therefore recommended at this point.

Category:

Infectious diseases