Shingles Symptoms Could Be Serious

Answer 1

An encore performance of the chickenpox virus, varicella-zoster, can result in a painful and sometimes dangerous condition known as shingles, or herpes zoster. The virus can reactivate years after a bout of chickenpox, predominantly manifesting itself as an itchy, prickling rash. Nerve pain confined to one particular area of the body before the appearance of a rash is very common. In some cases, the virus' reactivation begins with flu-like symptoms, with the exception of a fever. The tell-tale sign of the shingles virus is the bumpy rash that forms days after the initial pain. Stinging, site-specific pain and itching at the rash site are the most common and intense symptoms, according to Mayoclinic.org. Though the pain is usually the first indicator, the small, red bumps that form a shingles rash are the first visual cues that the virus has reactivated and multiplied. The rash can develop anywhere on the body but is usually confined to a small section or strip of skin and only occurs on one side of the body. In some moderate shingles cases, the bumps merge to form a solid red band. The rash may wrap completely around the right or left side of the body, and it can even appear on the face and around one eye. Serious shingles infections near the eye can cause blindness if not treated immediately. Within three to five days, the bumps that form the rash fill with fluid, becoming blisters. These blisters fill with pus, burst open and then crust over after two or three weeks. About a month after their initial appearance, the blisters heal completely, the body sloughing off any remaining crust. The pain associated with a shingles rash is unlike other skin irritations because the virus utilizes the nerve roots responsible for sending sensation to the skin, traveling along the same path as the nerve endings. This is also the cause of the band-like appearance of this rash. Shingles can occur in any individual who has had the chickenpox, but the virus most frequently affects those over the age of 60 and people chronic diseases that lower immunity.