Shingles hits some 850,000 Americans yearly. It is able to appear at any age, but is most common in men and women over the age of fifty, when the immune function normally starts to worsen as a consequence of growing older.

Shingles is a disease due to the varicella-zoster virus, which is actually an identical virus which causes chickenpox. It adversely affects the nerve endings in the skin. Most frequent spots on the body affected is the skin of the abdomen under the ribs, leading toward the navel, but they can appear anyplace on the body.

The majority of adults already have contracted chickenpox. Visit this information familiar childhood disease causes a rash along with a fever that itches maddeningly, but rarely does any long term damage. However, when the varicella-zoster virus enters the body and is responsible for chickenpox, it does not go away. It might lie dormant in the spinal cord and nerve ganglia for a long time until a weakening of the immune system. Subsequently the varicella-zoster infection spreads to the exact ends of the nerves, causing them to send impulses to the brain that are translated as pain which is serious, itching, or burning, and rendering the underlying skin a lot more delicate than usual.

Most cases of shingles run their course in a couple of weeks. More severe cases may last longer and require aggressive treatment. But in some cases the soreness remains for a few months, possibly years, after the blisters have disappeared. This syndrome, is called postherpetic neuralgia, this's much more likely to occur in older individuals. If shingles develop close to the eyes, the cornea could be affected and blindness might result. An ophthalmologist must be contacted if the shingles show up on the forehead, close to the eyes, or on the idea of the nose. Untreated ophthalmic herpes zoster is able to lead to vision loss.

An attack of shingles is normally preceded by 3 or four days of chills, fever, and achiness. The pain may have begun in the affected region. Then crops of small blisters appear. The area affected becomes sensitive and painful excruciatingly to the touch. Numbness, shooting pains, tingling, depression, headache and fever may in addition be present. Fortunately this phase of shingles lasts only seven to fourteen days. (ONLY?!) The blisters inevitably create crusty scabs and also fall off. People are able to get shingles over and over again.

The chance of an attack of shingles can be increased by many factors, including:

* Stress

* Cancer