If Youve Had Shingles

Shingles

Also chosen: Herpes zoster, Postherpetic neuralgia

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Summary

What is shingles?

Shingles is an outbreak of rash or blisters on the pare. It is acquired by the varicella-zoster virus - the aforementioned virus that causes chickenpox. After yous have chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. It may not cause bug for many years. Just as you get older, the virus may reappear as shingles.

Is shingles contagious?

Shingles is non contagious. Simply you tin take hold of chickenpox from someone with shingles. If you've never had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine, try to stay away from anyone who has shingles.

If y'all have shingles, attempt to stay abroad from anyone who has not had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine, or anyone who might have a weak allowed system.

Who is at risk for shingles?

Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk for getting shingles. Merely this risk goes up as y'all get older; shingles is most common in people over historic period fifty.

People with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of getting shingles. This includes those who:

Have immune system diseases such as HIV/AIDS
Have certain cancers
Have immunosuppressive drugs after an organ transplant

Your immune organisation may exist weaker when yous take an infection or are stressed. This can raise your run a risk of shingles.

It is rare, merely possible, to become shingles more than in one case.

What are the symptoms of shingles?

Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching. It is usually on one side of the body or face up. The hurting can exist mild to severe.

1 to xiv days later, you will go a rash. Information technology consists of blisters that typically scab over in seven to 10 days. The rash is usually a single stripe around either the left or the right side of the torso. In other cases, the rash occurs on one side of the face. In rare cases (unremarkably among people with weakened immune systems), the rash may be more widespread and look similar to a chickenpox rash.

Some people may also accept other symptoms:

Fever
Headache
Chills
Upset tum

What other bug can shingles cause?

Shingles can cause complications:

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is most common complication of shingles. Information technology causes severe hurting in the areas where y'all had the shingles rash. Information technology usually gets better in a few weeks or months. Simply some people can accept hurting from PHN for many years, and information technology tin interfere with daily life.
Vision loss can happen if shingles affects your heart. Information technology may be temporary or permanent.
Hearing or rest problems are possible if you lot have shingles within or most your ear. Yous may also have weakness of the muscles on that side of your face. These problems can be temporary or permanent.

Very rarely, shingles can also lead to pneumonia, brain inflammation (encephalitis), or decease.

How is shingles diagnosed?

Unremarkably your health care provider can diagnose shingles by taking your medical history and looking at your rash. In some cases, your provider may scrap off tissue from the rash or swab some fluid from the blisters and transport the sample to a lab for testing.

What are the treatments for shingles?

There is no cure for shingles. Antiviral medicines may help to make the assail shorter and less astringent. They may too assistance prevent PHN. The medicines are most effective if you can take them within 3 days after the rash appears. And then if you think you might have shingles, contact your health care provider every bit before long equally possible.

Pain relievers may likewise help with the pain. A absurd washcloth, calamine balm, and oatmeal baths may assist relieve some of the itching.

Can shingles be prevented?

There are vaccines to forbid shingles or lessen its effects. The Centers for Disease Command and Prevention recommends that good for you adults fifty years and older get the Shingrix vaccine. You need two doses of the vaccine, given two to vi months autonomously. Another vaccine, Zostavax, may exist used in certain cases.

Start Here

Shingles Manual (Centers for Affliction Control and Prevention) Likewise in Spanish
What Anybody Should Know about Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Herpes Zoster Oticus (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Postherpetic Neuralgia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Pedagogy and Research) Also in Castilian
Ramsay Hunt Syndrome (Mayo Foundation for Medical Educational activity and Research)

Shingles: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Photos of Shingles (Centers for Disease Command and Prevention)
Shingles (Zoster) (VisualDX)
Shingles: Signs and Symptoms (American Academy of Dermatology)

Shingles (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Castilian

Mail-herpetic neuralgia - aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Ramsay Hunt syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Shingles (Medical Encyclopedia) Besides in Spanish
Shingles - aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Castilian
Shingles Vaccine: What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Command and Prevention) - PDF

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Source: https://medlineplus.gov/shingles.html