How do you diagnose Shingles?

Answer 1

Shingles arises from stress, either from lack of proper, restful sleep or depression and trauma in one's life. These traumatic occurences can bring the body's immune defenses down and if one was exposed to 'Chicken Pox' as a child, it comes back due to the above occurrences as 'Shingles.' It is also called Herpes Zoster, and it can occur over again if the above conditions which bring the immune defenses down are not corrected. The virus has remained dormant in the nerves being rekindled again, and usually starts out as a very bad back ache about a week prior to a bright red rash formation, which usually occurs on the backside, buttocks and could spread along the nerve endings all the way down to the legs. It sometimes can occur near the eye and could be serious if the lesions form there. Medical attention is required as soon as possible and drugs such as Acyclovir are given to shorten the duration of the occurence, which if untreated with these drugs, could last for a few weeks. I'm sorry to say, that it is quite painful and you will have severe pain during, and lingering pain some time after the lesions disappear. I had them 3 times in my lifetime, so I know what you may be experiencing, but now my life is less stressful and it has been years since they have occured. Try to eliminate the stress in your life, get proper sleep and take Lysine supplements. This helps to prevent an occurence. Stay away from foods that are rich in Arginine such as nuts and chocolate, because Arginine 'feeds' the Herpes Zoster virus. There is plenty of info about Herpes Zoster online. Just use your favorite search engine. Good luck to you. Take Care Aspirin or Tylenol may help relieve some of the pain but your doctor may prescribe a more potent pain killer until the Shingles subside. Incidentally, there is now a Shingles vaccine just recently approved by the FDA, but I believe it only will work for people who had chicken pox and have NOT had Shingles yet, and want to PREVENT it from occurring. Talk to your doctor about it. Again, good luck!

Answer 2

If you have ever had chicken pox before then you probably have herpes zooster which is the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles. If you have had chicken pox before then you may want to talk to your doctor about getting vaccinated for shingles which can affect you later in life after having chicken pox.

Answer 3

Diagnosis usually is not possible until the skin lesions develop. Once they develop, however, the pattern and location of the blisters and the type of cell damage displayed are characteristic of the disease.

Answer 4

.accurate diagnosis primarily based upon the physical examination. tests.may include.viral culture of skin lesion.microscopic examination using a Tzanck preparation. complete blood count.Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis.

Answer 5

What Are Shingles?

Shingles is basically the adult form of chicken pox also known as Vericella Zoster or Herpes Zoster. Most people have already been exposed and have had chicken pox. When a person has already experienced chicken pox, shingles can occur. Another few factors to consider when shingles symptoms appear is a person may have a weakened immune system, stress, or just simply be older.

Following the steps below can help a person determine if they do shingles and what treatment options are available. Always let a medical professional be the one to diagnosis the condition. This ensures proper treatment of the condition can be given and the right medications can be ordered.

Answer 6

if you have had the chicken pox, the shingles virus is already inside you. call your doctor if you have a rash that feels that some one lit it on fire