While many adults have heard the term "shingles", incredibly few realize exactly what the disease actually is. This can cause confusion in understanding what the symptoms of shingles are, what causes shingles, and how shingles can be treated.
If you've shingles, you've painful rash somewhere in the body. This rash can take place anywhere in the sufferer's body. However, it is somewhat more common on the torso than in other locations.
This rash is caused by the same virus that is known to cause chicken pox in kids and occurs when the virus has lain dormant in the body for years and then for some reason chooses to rear its ugly head in the form of shingles.
Typical symptoms of shingles consist of pain in the affected location, along with numbness and burning feelings. It can also cause headaches as well as tiredness.
As previously discussed, after a child has chicken pox the varicella-zoster virus lays dormant in the body. For some reason in older adults this illness can be reactivated and will flare up into a case of the shingles.
Because of the fact, that no one knows for certain, who will have the varicella-zoster virus show up again in the later years of life, there is no exact way to protect against a shingles episode. However, there are techniques to treat the condition.
Shingles is a viral infection. This is the reason why it takes some time to cure. However, there are some prescriptions that can make the process a little bit faster. They are known as antiviral drugs.
There are also some additional medicines, along with antiviral medicines, that can be utilized to make you feel better. For instance, some antidepressants as well as anticonvulsants are used efficiently as a treatment for shingles. Also, pain medicines are useful in reducing the pain caused by the problem.
While shingles can be incredibly painful and undesirable condition, there are also some vaccines created against varicella-zoster virus. These vaccines helps in keeping the virus dormant in your body, hence preventing the occurrence of shingles.
If you have shingles episodes rather frequently, it may be a good idea to talk with the specialist whether these vaccines would be a good option for you. It is also vital that you learn to recognize shingles as quickly as possible after the flare-up. The earlier the medication is started, the earlier the symptoms of the condition can be treated.
Finally, always make sure that you talk about any concerns that you could have concerning any medical condition with the physician. They can talk about the concerns with you and together you can determine exactly what treatment if any is best for you.
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