Shingles Herpes Zoster

1
ShinglesHerpes Zoster

• By Sarah Alvarez

2
What is Shingles?

• Shingles is a rash that appears on any part of
  the body
• It causes pain, discomfort and blisters.
• The medical term is Herpes Zoster but is not the
  same as genital herpes or herpes mouth sores.

3
What is the cause?

• Shingles comes from the same virus as the chicken
  pox which is Varicella Zoster
• Once a person contracts the chicken pox, the
  virus can live in the human body for 50-60 years
  and environmental or health factors can cause the
  virus to reappear in the form of Shingles in the
  sensory nerve fibers.
• Immune deficiency, stress, cancer, aging and
  severe illness are factors that trigger the
  reappearance of the virus.
• Only those who have had chicken pox before can
  contract the disease.

4
Symptoms

• Before the appearance of any physical symptoms
  there is sensitive skin and burning sensations.
• Then small blisters form along the nerves of the
  affected area. Some areas may have many blisters
  while other areas may have none.
• The blisters pop and ooze and the skin crusts
  over and begins to heal.
• New blisters form every 3-5 days and the process
  can last up to 4 weeks.
• In some cases blisters may never form.

5
Diagnosis

• Usually diagnosis can be determined by the
  physical appearance of the skin because not many
  diseases look like Shingles.
• Diagnosis tests can be preformed to be sure.
  Fluid from the blister is taken and the cells are
  analyzed. Those with Herpes Zoster have very
  large cells with many dark nuclei.
• There is also a test called the Tzanck test where
  a viral culture is taken from a lesions.

6
Is it contagious?

• Shingles is contagious and can be spread when
  there are blisters on the skin.
• If a person has Shingles and comes in contact
  with a person who has never had the chicken pox,
  then the virus manifests as the chicken pox. If
  the person has already had the chicken pox then
  Shingles cannot be spread.
• Once the blisters have crusted over there is no
  risk of spreading.

7
Treatment

• There is currently no cure for Shingles.
• For the pain over the counter pain medications
  can be taken as well as prescribed pain
  medications.
• To limit the duration of the blisters, antiviral
  such as Zovirax and Famvir can be prescribed as
  well as steroids.
• The affected area should be kept dry and covered.
  You should bathe with soap and water to clean
  with blisters.
• Aluminum acetate solutions can also be used to
  dry the blisters.

8
Prevention

• There is no way to prevent Shingles except for
  making sure you dont come into contact with
  someone who has fresh blisters.
• There is a new vaccine that was introduced by
  Merrick Co. named Zostavax.
• It has been proven successful in preventing half
  the cases of those who received the injection.
• It also reduced 2/3 the number of cases of
  postherpetic nastalgia.
• Also the intake of micronutrients has been proven
  to reduce the risk of contraction.

9
Complications

• In some rare cases there can be serious
  complications due to the contraction of Shingles.
• For example if you get Shingles on your face it
  is possible that your vision will be affected.
• In any area, the blisters can become infected and
  produce cellulitus.
• There is also postherpetic neuralgia which is
  where the pain persists for longer than 1 month.
  It usually occurs in the elderly (50) and is
  caused by the irritation of nerves. The pain can
  be debilitating.

10
Questions

• 1. Shingles come from the same virus as the
  chicken pox.
• False True
• 2. Shingles is contagious
• Always
• Never
• Only when there are new blisters
• 3. There are no serious complications when you
  contract Shingles?
• A)True B) False