Shingles Treatment

If you've ever had the chicken pox, you can get shingles. In fact, shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox, varicella zoster. The one major difference in having the chicken pox and shingles, shingles can be very painful. It's thought that every year at least 1 million people will come down with shingles. Luckily, there are various treatment options available, when dealing with shingles.

Causes

• Once a person has had chicken pox, the varicella zoster virus becomes inactive, but is still in the system. Basically, the virus is dormant in the nerve cells that are next to the spinal cord. The virus can be inactive for decades before a person will show symptoms of having shingles. Once the virus is reactivated, it moves down the fibers of nerves extended to your skin, causing a rash. Researchers still don't know exactly what causes an outbreak to occur, but believe a weaken immune system may be the culprit.

Treatments

• If you think you might have shingles, it's best to seek medical treatment as soon as possible. The earlier treatment is started, the quicker the shingles will subside. Treatment works best if the patient is treated within the first three days from the onset of the rash. The various treatments for shingles are using oral antiviral drugs to treat the infection, anti-inflammatory drugs, pain relievers as well as anti-depressants. Studies have shown that people taking an oral antiviral drug at the onset of shingles, generally have a shorter duration period of having the condition.

  The basic goals in the treatment of shingles are to shorten the time span of the rash, quicken the healing process of the lesions and relieve any discomfort or pain the person is feeling.

Postherpetic Neuralgia

• Most people who have had a bout of shingles, complain that dealing with the pain was the worse part. Postherpetic neuralgia happens when the infection has damaged the nerves. This is a painful complication of having shingles and can sometimes last longer than the rash itself. This is another reason why getting treatment early on is imperative. Once postherpetic neuralgia has developed, anti-inflammatory medications and pain medication is generally prescribed to deal with the symptoms. This complication can last anywhere from weeks to years. If there's anything good about shingles, once you've had them, their likely to never show up again.

Identification

• Shingles occur in two stages, the prodromal stage and the eruptive stage. In the prodromal stage, approximately two to five days before any signs of rash develops, a person may suffer headaches, nausea and chills, as well as a numbness, tingling, burning, itching, or a shooting pain to one side of the face or body.

  In the eruptive stage, wherever the person felt the pain, redness, swelling and clusters of blisters will appear. These blisters are filled with a clear fluid and will continue to appear for up to five more days. The rash will generally only appear on one side of the body and can appear on the face, torso, arms, legs, or waistline. While the rash is in this stage, it's possible to be contagious to someone who has never had chicken pox. You cannot give someone shingles though. After about two weeks, the blisters become filled with pus and are no longer contagious. The rash generally lasts for approximately two to five weeks.

Complications

• Postherpetic neualgia was discussed above, but there can be several other complications from getting shingles. Shingle blisters that appear on the tip of the nose, indicate the virus has now invaded the ophthalmic nerve, which is a condition called Hutchinson's Sign. This condition causes swelling of the eye that is very painful and might cause temporary blindness. It's best to see an ophthalmologist if you notice the shingles have caused blisters on the end of your nose.

  Another complication of shingles can be Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. In this condition the virus has spread to the nerves in the face, causing severe pain in the ear. In this case, the rash may appear either on the inside or outside of the ear, inside the mouth or anywhere on the face or neck region of the body. This condition can cause hearing loss, dizziness and even paralysis to your face. If suffering with shingles rash in any of these regions of your body, seek medical help as soon as possible so a course of treatment can be started.