Shingles (infection)

Diets that are low in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants can weaken your immune system, making you more vulnerable to infection. Strive for a low-fat diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Shingles is caused by the same virus that gives children chickenpox. Skin damaged by shingles is extra sensitive and sunbathing may cause the virus to ramp up or reemerge if one has recently healed.

No shingles of the mouth is not contagious. Shingles is not contagious in any form. The virus that causes shingles however, can cause chicken pox.

If you're talking about shingles on a roof, they last 15 to 30 years depending on the quality and if they were installed properly.

Shingles, otherwise known as Herpes Zoster, is the caused by the same virus which causes chickenpox. Any person who has had the chicken pox may have a shingles attack. Shingles tends to be less contagious than chicken pox, but this may be due better hygiene during adult life. Additionally, children are more apt to spread bodily fluids from child to child. Adults tend to keep their shingles well covered and their hands washed. If an adult does not have proper hygiene, contagion is more likely.

I have noticed a terrible order. I notice it especially after I shower and the order remains on my towel. My husband said that he can smell the odor in the bathroom after I leave.

There is no cure for shingles. Antiviral like Acyclovir and steroid (Prednisone) can be given that may shorten the duration of the condition. This is by no mean a cure because for many patients, the above medications have little effect. Many have prolonged pain for months despite all the medications.

Shingles in the mouth can last up to one month. However, if they are treated and you receive antibiotics for the shingles, they were heal at a much faster rate than if you allow them to heal naturally.

You should have the vaccine as an older adult if you had chicken pox as a child. Before shingles appear.

Stay isolated. The disease is highly contagious. Stay home from work or school until all sores are scabs.

Wait for the rash to become blisters and for the blisters to heal and become scabbed. It will happen by itself. Your immune system will heal you.

Do not scratch the blisters - you can allow in bacterial infection and leave scars, or become sick from the bacteria.

Put a soothing cream or lotion on the blisters. Calamine lotion (Zinc Oxide) is a cheap simple lotion to use. It dries to a chalky powder which is a slight antiseptic and which absorbs fluid leaking from the sores.

You can take cool oatmeal baths to help with the itching, or put a mixture of baking soda on the chickenpox.

It will depend on the weight per 100 square feet of shingle coverage. In the U.S., the average weight per 100 square feet will be in the range of 240 pounds, and the normal number of bundles it takes to cover 100 square feet is 3. With these rough approximations, 100 bundles would weigh 8,000 pounds, or 4 tons.

Yes, chickenpox can cause a hepatitis (liver inflammation) that normally goes away on its own. Rarely, it can cause fatal liver failure. See related links.

Yes. Its possible. But that's what "second opinions" are for. Make an appointment with a new doctor, have new tests done and get second set of results. ~ T I would definitely say yes. I have had cold sores my whole life, though I rarely get them, unlike my mother, two sister, and my neice who get them on a regular basis. I had a blood test because of an infection and they told me I had both types of the herpes virus. I am now 27 and have been sexually active since the age of 18. To this day, I have never had an "outbreak" let alone sore bumps in or around my vaginal area. So unless, I am like a carrier or something, I do believe I was misdiagnosed.
Yes. Medical diagnosis is more of an art than a science, and errors are always possible. That said, it's generally pretty accurate.

Multiply the length by the width of one side of a gabled roof and then multiply by the slope (pythagorean theorm; e.g. 9 squared + 12 squared = 15 squared) and double it (two sides to a roof). This suare footage will give you the amount to divide by a bundle of shingles which covers 32 sq. ft.

Just read where Roseanne Barr had shingles and stated they were worse than childbirth.

It should make no difference. Use a sunscreen as you usually do.

According to a "Question and Answers" blog at the Blue Shield website, Blue Shield should cover up to 80% of the retail cost of the shingles vaccine. That would make it around $40.00. However, I would bet that it depends on the level of Blue Shield coverage you have and if you have Medicare Part D coverage.

The most common side effect of the shingles vaccine is inflammation at the injection site, leading to pain and tenderness. Flu-like symptoms may also be induced for several days.

20 year = 4 to a square. 30 year = 3 to a square. Most 20 year are also 3 bundles per square

Yes. Generally the rash confides to one area of the body, sometimes the chest, normally the upper back or neck.

Some people get the pain but never develop the rash. These cases are much more difficult to diagnose and can be mistaken for other diseases. Your doctor would need to do a blood test to confirm the diagnosis.

There's plenty of factors in this. Permanent is not very likely to happen at all, but medically anything's possible. However, stem cell research can reanimate paralyzed body parts. But untreated for a very very long period of time, yes it could.

general rule is 3 bundles of shingles cover an area 10 ft by 10 ft (known as a square).