What is the Shingles Disease?

Many adults have had chicken pox as a child while growing up. However, what they don’t realize is that once they get older, the chicken pox virus is still around in their body. It is known as the herpes zoster virus and like the chicken pox, as an adult if they get an outbreak or flare up of this virus, it is known as the shingles disease.

Often starting as a rash or line around the torso mainly, the itching and painful burning sensation can often times send someone to the hospital to seek relief from the shingles pain that is caused by the disease. Many times it can take weeks for the pain to subside and then it is not completely gone and can continue for months. The long term pain that is caused by shingles is known as post herpetic neuralgia.

Shingles can be contagious to those that have not had the chicken pox before. If someone has a shingles outbreak, they need to stay away from small children and the elderly until their rash and associated blisters dry up. Although it takes, usually, direct contact to be infected, there are times where it can cause issues and affect those that are ill or haven’t had the chicken pox before.

While there are some treatments for the shingles disease, each person is affected by them differently. A topical cream might help with the itching and pain for one person and not affect it at all on the next person. This is one of the hard parts of dealing with shingles is trying to find an effective treatment for the rash and pain that is associated with a shingles outbreak.

Another concern is often asked about a cure for the shingles. While there is a shingles vaccine that is used, it is primarily targeted toward the older population due to their higher risk of contracting and having a shingles outbreak. However, if your health is compromised in anyway by other medical conditions, you should seek the advise of your physician to learn more about prevention and treatments for shingles.

You might also like:

A Heartburn Natural Remedy That Really Works Coping With Urinary Incontinence Cold Sore Treatments that Work Fast What are the Polymyositis Symptoms? What is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Treatment? When Is a Fever Contagious? What Causes Arrhythmia? Does Constipation Cause Weight Gain? Natural Remedies for Restless Leg Syndrome How germs travel on planes and how we can stop them