Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus, otherwise known as the varicella-zoster virus. Normally after getting the chickenpox virus once, this virus stays dormant in the nerve cells in your spinal cord for life. However, if your immune system is weakened, the virus can activate and cause rashes and intense pain. Therefore, due to the condition of a weak

As with all diseases, the best start is to identify the symptoms. Shingles has several stages and you can sometimes identify the disease very early on. However, like most diseases, the symptoms of shingles will vary in person to person so be sure to visit a doctor for confirmation if you believe you have shingles.

In the most common case, early symptoms of shingles will occur two or three days before the common symptoms appears. These early symptoms often include (if they exist) burning or shooting pain in one side of the body of the face. Some other common symptoms are a tingling or itching feeling on the skin. Lastly, other early symptoms that sometimes occur are having a fever, chills, headache, upset stomach, or swollen or tender lymph nodes.

After the early symptoms occur, intense (but sometimes mild) pain occurs and people have generally called it unrelenting. This is often accompanied with the stage most people remember about chickenpox occurs: rashes of small fluid-filled blisters may appear on the reddened skin.

However, rare cases do happen and some people never attain these rashes but do receive the pain. As a final note, if you do have shingles or believe you have shingles, you should generally see a doctor as soon as possible. While some people may have mild symptoms and require no treatment, getting early treatment can often make symptoms less severe and less complications! Therefore, to save yourself some hassle, visit the doctor for a proper diagnosis and treatment if necessary.

Prior to the development of a rash and blisters, which form in the Active stage of shingles, the area around the affected nerves begins to cause discomfort, usually in the form of tingling sensations, pain, burning sensations, tickling and occasionally numbness. In addition, the affected person’s lymph nodes may become swollen and tender. These early symptoms can last anywhere from several days to several weeks before initiating the Active stage of shingles, where areas of rash appear on the body. Reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox is possible in any person who has had the virus, even if they experienced a mild case.

Transmission of shingles from exposure has not been proven, however those who have not been exposed to chickenpox may develop this virus if exposed to someone with shingles. In the event that early symptoms of shingles are exhibited, it is wise to contact a health care professional to diagnose the illness and develop a treatment plan. In all cases of shingles, the sooner treatment is begun, the better the results. There is no cure for shingles, however treatment options are used to prevent possible serious complications due to shingles and to shorten the length of the illness and control the symptoms.

The most popular treatments for early symptoms of shingles can include either one or a combination of the following; topical antibiotics (to prevent infection of any blisters that appear on the skin), OTC (Over the Counter) pain medications, usually aspirin or ibuprofen (to reduce symptoms of pain caused by shingles), and antiviral medicines (which reduce both the duration and symptoms of pain due to shingles). Typically shingles begins to develop on a person’s chest or back, however it has been known to occur in other areas of the body, including but not limited to the head and face, neck, arms or legs and the abdomen. In some cases of shingles, it is possible to have multiple areas of rash on the body.

This virus is then later the cause of shingles, usually many years after the original infection. Headache, fever, and malaise are initial signs of shingles. Feelings of burning pain, itching, hyperesthesia, or paresthesia commonly follow these symptoms. Then after one or two days, the characteristic skin rash appears. Usually the rash is on the torso, although it may affect the face, eyes, or other parts of the body. Although the rash looks similar to hives, it is generally a stripe pattern on one side of the body. This stripe patter occurs because the virus affects sensory nerves. Eventually small blisters will form, accompanied with continued fever and malaise. When the vesicles fill with blood, they will become darkened in color. In about a week, they will crust over. When the crusts fall off, the skin heals, rarely leaving scarring or discolored skin.

There are several risk factors that can increase your chances of developing shingles

• Advanced age is one factor. About one in four adults, with generally good health, will get shingles sometime in their lifetime. Most people who develop shingles are over the age of 40.
• A weakened immune system will also play a role. HIV infection, cancer, cancer drugs, radiation treatments, or an organ transplant will significantly impact your immune system, leaving your vulnerable to shingles.
• Stress or a cold could even temporarily put you at risk.
• The other factor that plays a role is whether a child’s mother had chickenpox late in pregnancy. If she had it 5 to 21 days before giving birth, or if the child had chickenpox in infancy, there is an increased risk of pediatric shingles.

The initial shingles symptoms are usually very nonspecific and include things like headache, fever and general body aches and pains, which can often lead to it being misdiagnosed. However, eventually those symptoms will be accompanied by a rash that can often be very painful. Often the affected area can become very painful to the touch. Sufferers of shingles have often described sensations like tingling, aching and even sharp shooting pains. The rash generally starts out small and usually appears first on the torso, though it can also show up on other parts of the body. Though unsightly and painful, generally the rash is relatively harmless, except in the rare occasion that it occurs near or on the eyes or ears. The virus spreading to the eye can possibly cause keratitis and optic nerve palsies, which can lead to ocular inflammation, pain and even loss of vision. In the ear, the symptoms can include hearing loss and vertigo.

The shingles virus is contagious. However, if you have already contracted chickenpox as a child you cannot contract shingles as an adult. If you have never had chickenpox, your first contact with shingles will result in the development of chickenpox, as opposed to shingles. As an adult, if you have had chickenpox, though you cannot catch shingles you could possibly develop it later in life, as stated above. The shingles virus is only contagious if there are new and healing blisters. If the blisters are old and already crusted over, it is no longer contagious. The herpes zoster virus has been around since the time of smallpox, however at the time there was no way to distinguish between smallpox and ergotism. Eventually in the 1700s, a man named William Herberden found a way to differentiate between the herpes zoster virus and smallpox. Soon after, associations between that virus and chickenpox were discovered.

Up until fairly recent history, shingles was thought of to be a very non-threatening disease. It was during the 1940s and 1950s that the more serious symptoms were discovered to be more problematic than initially thought. Medical professionals believe that most adults will contract shingles at least once during their lives, with the potential of developing it on their own after that.