Keonna White
December 19, 2013
Anatomy & Physiology
Introduction of Shingles
If you have had chickenpox during your childhood, it is sure that the virus has stayed in your system for numerous of years. But the virus has then been reactivated in later life, and that’s what causes the skin disease called “Shingles,” to develop. As well as chickenpox, there are other diseases which weakens our immune system. For example, HIV and/or AIDS can also cause Shingles to develop. Shingles is not considered a life threatening virus, but can become quite painful. Shingles is an extraordinarily painful condition that involves inflammation of sensory nerves.
Symptoms
The symptoms of Shingles include a tingling and irritated burning feeling to the skin, but it usually appears down one side of your body. And it also includes a nasty, painful red rash in the form of a band, and develops after a few days. Shingles may consist of nerve pain in the face, feverish system, headache, arm and leg pains, and also swelling. You may have a general feeling of being unwell and serious aches and pains. While the shingles rash may appear anywhere on the body, it most often appears around the waistline or side of the butt. Even when there is no rash, the pain of shingles may be apparent. Before a rash is visible, the patient may notice several days to a week of burning pain and sensitive skin. Shingles rash starts as small blisters on a red base, with new blisters continuing to form for three to five days. As with the blisters of chickenpox, eventually, the blisters in shingles pop, and the area starts to ooze. The affected areas will then crust over and heal. The rash disappears as the scabs fall off, and scarring may result. Shingles is contagious and can be spread from an affected person to babies, children, or adults who have not had chickenpox.
Causes of Shingles
When the virus becomes active again, you get shingles instead of chickenpox. Anyone who has had even a mild case of chickenpox can get shingles. People who have a weak immune system are vulnerable to reactivation of the virus that causes shingles. There are multiple things that can weaken our immune system, like: being age 50 or older, recent surgery, serious illness or disease, such as cancer or AIDS, poor nutrition, stress, and injury. If you have not had chickenpox or have not gotten them, you still will able to get chickenpox if you are exposed to Shingles. People with Shingles can exposed you to chickenpox if you get in contact with the fluid in the blisters. Eventually, it may reactivate and travel along nerve pathways to the skin, resulting in a shingles outbreak. After an individual has chickenpox, this virus lives dormant in the nervous system and is never fully cleared from the body. In some people, it remains dormant forever. In most cases of shingles, however, a cause for the reactivation of the virus is never found. It's also called herpes zoster, but it's not related to the virus that causes genital herpes.
Treatments of Shingles
There is no cure for shingles, but treatment may shorten the length of illness and prevent complications. Treatment options include: antiviral medicines to reduce the pain and duration of shingles, pain medicines, antidepressants, and topical creams to relieve long-term pain. Your doctor may prescribe drugs known as corticosteroids and antivirals for shingles, such as Acyclovir. Placing a soft, sterile non-sticky dressing or bandage over your lesions will protect your skin from clothing, and it will protect others from direct contact with open wounds. For pain related to an acute case of shingles, usually opioids are necessary. Pain medications, either anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, or opioid, such as morphine sustained-release also treats Shingles.
Famous People Who Have Shingles
* Former President Richard M. Nixon * Tony LaRussa (baseball manager) * Amy Grant (singer) * Gold Meir (Former Israeli Prime Minister) * Roseanne Barr * Michael Vick * Bill Clinton * Brad Pitt * Anne Heche
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Pictures of Shingles
Internet Sources
“Shingles Symptoms” .syptomfind. Web 20 Nov 2011. http://www.symptomfind.com/diseases-conditions/shingles “Shingles-Cause” .everydayhealth. http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/shingles-cause.aspx “Shingles Causes” .Health.alot. http://www.health.alot.com/conditions/shingles-causes--139 “Shingles Picture Slideshow: A Collection of Photos Shingles” .MedicineNet.
http://www.medicinenet.com/shingles_picture_slideshow/article.htm
