Introduction to Shingles – Is It a Contagious Disease?

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Joe Homps

Introduction to Shingles – Is It a Contagious Disease?

Article by Barb Hicks – Clivir Team







Shingles (Herpes zoster) is a viral infection that develops in people who have had chickenpox in the past. It can come about when you have been subjected to prolonged emotional distress, an immune system disorder such as HIV/AIDS, or taking chemotherapy treatments. Anti rejection drugs can also cause a shingles outbreak, because these drugs must suppress the immune system to avoid rejecting a transplanted organ.

Shingles may start out as a low-grade fever or flu-like symptoms. The fever can be followed by pain or itchy areas on the skin, then a red rash appears within five days. The rash turns into painful blisters that begin to leak a clear fluid that crust over then heals.

Is Shingles Contagious?

Shingles is not contagious, but the virus that causes it is. The zoster virus spreads by coming in contact with a person with an active zoster infection. You won’t get shingles, but you may get chickenpox if you’ve never had it before. Varicella and herpes zoster are caused by the same virus, varicella zoster. Anyone who has a prior history of chickenpox before can get shingles, but is mostly seen in people who are 60 years old or older.

A main reason the virus kicks back up again is due to emotional stress, which when prolonged will have an affect on the immune system, thus reactivating a virus that has been dormant in the body for years, resulting in a shingles infection.

Who is at risk?

A woman who is pregnant should avoid at all costs anyone showing to have an active shingles infection. If she has no history of chickenpox, the virus being shed can be passed to her, and ultimately her unborn baby. Should the expectant mother be exposed to the shingles virus, she could develop chickenpox herself, and her baby could be born already having chickenpox.

People who are in good health and have immunity to varicella are not in danger of the zoster virus. You are immune if you’ve been vaccinated against chickenpox or already had a chickenpox infection before. An active shingles infection is contagious to those with no prior history of varicella.

Prevention:

To prevent infection, it is advised to get vaccinated. Presently, Zostavax has been approved for our senior population. Zostavax is a one-time chickenpox booster injection and helps to prevent getting shingles and its complications. It is advised to get the chickenpox vaccination if you have never had one, or if you have never had chickenpox before.

Always contact your health care provider if you are having symptoms of chickenpox or shingles infection. The older you are with either of these conditions, the more painful it is.



About the Author

Barb Hicks is a licensed registered nurse and passionate health writer on Clivir.com where you can find more of her lessons about What Causes Shingles and Shingles Treatment.

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Tai Chi Rejuvenates Immunity in Older Adults Against Shingles

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Joe Homps

Tai Chi Rejuvenates Immunity in Older Adults Against Shingles

According to researches, Tai Chi, a Chinese exercise that uses both mind and body, can aid in preventing the shingles virus by increasing the body’s immunity against the VZV or varicella-zoster virus. Aside from preventing it, Tai Chi can also boost the body’s response to the vaccine for old adults. VZV is the virus that is responsible for diseases like shingles and chickenpox.

 

Understanding Shingles

 

Shingles is a kind of viral infection that causes debilitating rashes that are quite painful. It appears as blisters that can be seen at the middle of the person’s back turning to one side of his chest and overwhelming the breastbone. Parts of your body like the scalp, neck and face are also affected. Shingles can be excruciatingly painful.

 

One way to identify the disease is to pinpoint where it all started because shingles usually originates at one side of the body. Shingles is a sort of long term “side-effect” of chickenpox. It is because after having chickenpox, the virus within the body becomes inactive. After years, it gets to be reactivated as shingles.

 

Shingles is not a life-threatening situation but can be severely painful and can lead to a complication in which the skin remains painful and is very sensitive to even to the softest touch. It remains at that state until all blisters are gone. This kind of condition lasts for months or worse, years.

 

Shingles is the common for adults over 50 that is why it is important the old people be protected from the virus or have in them the prescribed tool to fight the virus out of their lives. For those who have not been affected with the virus, but is susceptible to, better be more cautious and maintain the immune system on a healthy level.

 

What the public needs to know

 

Although vaccination can be an effective method to prevent acquiring shingles, it can only last long. But if the vaccination for shingles is combined with Tai Chi, the results are promising. Good news is, out of 5 persons who have undergone chickenpox, only one person will get shingles sometime in their 50s. Shingles will be very dangerous for older people.

 

Researchers and doctors said that, although more studies should be further enhanced, it is proven that Tai Chi combined with immunization was made effective as an intervention to prevent the increase of the painful condition. The positive effects of Tai Chi helped researchers determine that the height of response by the human body is incredible.

 

Study has it that Tai Chi alone can increase the patient’s immunity to the virus same with the outcome of ordinary vaccine. The moment Tai Chi is combined with the vaccine itself, it produced a significant result with a high level of immunity amounting to over 40%. Studies also show that compared to those that only acquired the vaccine, Tai Chi’s effects are doubled in the increase.

 

Aside from the increased level of immunity, Tai Chi also manifested remarkable outcome that include decrease in body pain, improved physical functioning, mental health and vitality. Groups who engaged in Tai Chi showed a decline in the symptoms of the disease’s severity.

 

Therefore, for those who are experiencing or knows someone who is at their golden years, it is better to advise them to engage in Tai Chi.

 

I am Gargi Nath from Kolkata,India.I am a Professor of English.Please visit my website at http://overview-of-tai-chi.blogspot.com for more medical treatments using TaiChi.

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Chronic Pain Treatment In Elderly Patients

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Joe Homps

Chronic Pain Treatment In Elderly Patients

Elderly patient is the one of the most difficult patient to treat because there are too many additional barriers such as impaired cognition, hearing and vision lost that pain management physician facing during office visit. In addition, many elderly patients do not want to be seen as complainers secondary to their cultural background. Typically, elderly patients have multiple comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic heart failure, and chronic renal failure. There are also many psychological comorbities and social problems such as depression, anxiety, ambulation, socialization and vitality as well.

Physician has to remember that in elderly population pain intensity and drugs pharmacokinetics usually diminished as the patient ages. Drug clearance and drug half-life is altering with renal excreted medications and hepatic metabolized medications. Sensitivity of the drugs to central nervous system is also shifting when the patient aged.

Chronic pain is tremendously affecting elderly people. It is changing their physical activities; they ability to perform activities of daily leaving; the work and their recreation activities. It is also increasing their psychological morbidity such as depression, anxiety, anger, and loss of self-esteem. Social and societal consequences transform accordingly affecting marital/family reactions; intimacy/sexual activities; increase social isolation; health care cost; disability and lost workdays.

Neuropathic pain treatment in elderly has several goals such as improving physical functioning; reducing psychological distress, and improves overall quality of life. The first-line pharmacological treatment recommendations for neuropathic pain in elderly would be Gabapentin, Lidocaine patch, Tramadol, Antidepressant and Opioid Analgesics. Second line treatment of chronic pain in elderly patients would be Spinal Cord Stimulator that will allow decreasing all oral medications including opioids. The overall effect would be dramatic changes of the quality of life with an improvement of the physical activities and decreasing all medications’ side affect. The third line of treatment of the chronic pain in elderly population would be an implantation of the intrathecal pump. Intrathecal pump will deliver very small dose of medications into spinal canal and this allows improving the efficacy of these medications and eliminating or decreasing general side effects.

Dr. A. Krakovsky, M.D., PhD., Dr., Sc. is an interventional pain management physician, a professor of medicine and surgery. Dr. Krakovsky leads International Pain Institute in La Jolla, CA providing procedures to elevate pain. Call 858-5519500 or visit http://internationalpaininstitute.net

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Your Questions About Shingles

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Joe Homps

David asks…

ANYDOES ANYONE HAVE ANY REMEDIES FOR SHINGLES?

I HAVE BLISTERED LESIONS ON EVERY PART OF MY BODY AND PHN IN ABOUT 4 AREAS AND I’M LOOKING FOR ALT MED. OR TREATMENT SINCE DOCTORS CAN DO NOTHING.
THANKS,

admin answers:

Oh -you poor thing. I just went through that myself.

I tried many things. Dissolve an aspirin in about a tablespoon of water and dab that on the lesions. I felt like that gave some relief. Cool gel packs or a cool compress helps also. Probably more than anything else.

Drugs help – like pain killers.

I tried the Zostrix cream. The doctor didn’t give me instructions on how to use that, so I put it on next to the lesion. As soon as I rubbed the lesion, I transferred the Zostrix cream on to the lesion by mistake. It burned like hell – like squirting jalepeno juice in your eye or something. I was sure it was going to kill me, the pain was horrible. But, when that pain wore off – the shingles didn’t hurt nearly as bad from that point on. I don’t know if it was worth it. I don’t know how long the pain would have lasted if I had not done that, but it really did stop the majority of the pain. That was about 1 week after the breakout started.

I am currently using the Zostrix cream so I don’t get post herpetic neuralgia – lingering pain that can last for months/years after the shingles.

Now it has been 3 1/2 weeks since it first started and I still have some pain but the lesions are healing. Mine broke out on my neck, chest, ear and chin. I started using Mederma to prevent scarring after about 10 days – I think it really helped clear away the scabs and make it heal faster. I scar real bad because I am fair skinned. The stuff looked (and felt) like acid burns.

Also, it seemed to help when I took B vitamins – they are suppose to be good for your nerves.

I wish you the best of luck with this. You have all my sympathy.

John asks…

Are there any home remedies for the pain caused by nerve damage as a result of Shingles?

admin answers:

That works? NO. Of course prayer.

Ken asks…

i have shingles in my mouth does anybody know a few remedies?

i have magic mouthwash it worked for a while but now its seem to aggravate my mouth should i keep using it or just stop and if i stop using the magic mouth wash will my shingles stop healing.
i didnt have any oral sex why would you say something like that
i cut my gum and caught the infection

admin answers:

Natural remedies/advice

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/healthconditionsdisease/a/shingles.htm
http://herbs.lovetoknow.com/Homeopathic_Treatments_for_Shingles
www.home-remedies-for-you.com/askquestion/11656/shingles-natural-remedies-what-can-be-used-for-bur.html
doctorssolution.com

Charles asks…

Do you know a home cure for shingles?

I have 3 friends with shingles. Do you know of any home remedies?

admin answers:

Lye Soap :)Its homeade

Steven asks…

How can I get rid of the gray fungus that grows on my roof asphalt shingles? need a home remedy.?

all the homes in our neighborhood have a problem with roof fungus. there is a simple remedy for this -but- I can’t rememb er it. help!

admin answers:

A zinc strip attached at the peak. Spray with bleach to remove what’s there already. Trim trees to eliminate shade, which will allow it to return.

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Treatments for Kidney Stone

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Joe Homps

Treatments for Kidney Stone

When the marble sits in the kidney, it rarely causes harms, but should it plummet into the ureter, it acts like a dam. The kidney continues to behave and make urine, which backs up behind the rock, stretching the kidney. The demands create up causes the ache of a kidney deseed, but it also helps exhort the gemstone along the course of the ureter. When the sandstone enters the bladder, the obstruction in the ureter is relieved and the symptoms of a kidney pebble are resolved.

Drinking more fluids. You want to swig enough water to keep your urine release, about 8 to 10 glasses a day. Try to snifter 2 glasses of water every 2 hours while you are awake. If you have kidney, spirit, or liver disease and are on fluid restrictions, meeting with your surgeon before increasing your fluid intake.

Men are especially apt to arise kidney pebbles, and whites are more regularly unnatural than blacks. The prevalence of kidney sand begins to arise when men range their 40s, and it continues to climb into their 70s. People who have already had more than one kidney mineral are level to stem more shingle. A family chronicled of kidney gravel is also an endanger feature for the development of kidney shingle.

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). This is a mostly used route for treating kidney sand. It uses shock waves to crush the shingle into tiny pieces that are then approved in your urine. In some gear, you may be partly submerged in a tub of water during the method. In others, you may lie on a yielding moderate. You’ll commonly require sedation or light anesthesia due to moderate nuisance caused by the shock waves. A loud clatter is shaped each time a shock wave is generated, and you’ll costume earphones to defend your inquiry.

Kidney gravel could commonly be treated without surgery. Your physician, or a kidney specialist, may prove the chemical composition of the urine by asking you to save your urine for a filled 24 hours. Then, adjustments in your diet and fluid intake may be prescribed to help hinder formation of shingle. Water intake is the most important rung in condensing kidney deseed formation. Drinking up to three quarts of fluids a day will trigger the urine to be very insipid, and chemicals will have less of an ability crystallizing together and forming shingle.

Cystine pebbles are blonde and crystalline. They advance if you have high levels of cystine in your urine, which happens if you have a hereditary disorder called cystinuria. Only one in the hundred this caused kidney stones train. Cystine stones cultivate to widen prior in life than other kidney stones, usually between the ages of 10 and 30 days.

Ureteroscopy route is performed when the seed is located in the ureter. The urologist slips an instrument called an ureteroscope through the urethra (the tube through which the urine passes) into the bladder and up to the ureter. The urologist can then eradicate the marble with a tool that resembles a cage or use ultrasound shock waves to pound the stone.

An austere and most important lifestyle change to avert stoning is to slurp more liquids-water is best. Someone who tends to form stoning should try to juice enough liquids throughout the day to generate at slightest 2 quarts of urine in every 24-hour epoch.

Learn about passing kidney stones and kidney stone prevention at the Kidney Stone Pain site.

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Your Questions About Shingles

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Joe Homps

Charles asks…

How long is shingles contagious on a solid surface?

A lady at work has shingles. We are wondering how long the virus lives on solid surfaces. As in, if she touches a desk, if I (have never had Chickenpox) touch the desk will I get it?

admin answers:

I found this article it may be helpful. My sister had shingles but I had the chickenpox before, they just told me at the hospital as long as I did not eat or drink after her I would be ok or use her hairbrush?? There may be a chance that you could I would recommend that you wash your hands before and after you go near her.

Anyone who’s had chickenpox has the potential of developing shingles. However, it’s most common in older adults: More than half the shingles cases occur in adults over 60.

In addition, people with weakened immune systems from HIV/AIDS, those who are receiving medical treatments, such as steroids, radiation and chemotherapy, or those who have a history of bone or lymphatic cancer are more likely to develop shingles. Most people develop shingles only once, but recurrences in other areas are possible.

A person with shingles can pass the varicella-zoster virus to anyone who hasn’t had chickenpox before. This usually occurs through direct contact with the open sores of the shingles rash. Once infected, the person will develop chickenpox, however, not shingles. The infection can be serious for certain groups of people with immune system deficiencies. The varicella-zoster virus cannot be spread to another person with a normal immune system who has already had chickenpox.

Until the shingles blisters scab over, avoid physical contact with:

Anyone who’s never had chickenpox
Anyone who has a weak immune system
Newborns
Pregnant women (A chickenpox infection can be dangerous for the developing baby.)

Susan asks…

How are shingles contagious? And how to they spread? ?

As its almost xmas, i am really worried because my grandpa has had a case of shingles and we were going to go to their place for christmas. I have a 2 month old boy who hasnt had the vaccine yet. I’m just wondering how they spread- is it through direct skin contact only or can it spread through air aswell? I really want to see them at christmas time but wont risk my babies health.

admin answers:

Well, it would be nice if your grandpa could get the shingles vaccination because your baby would be able to catch chickenpox from him if the shingles come back again.

I think it’s exposure to the rash that would do it.

Your baby could not catch shingles but could catch chickenpox.

David asks…

Is Shingles Contagious – I am 25 weeks pregnant?

I have just gotten over a serious case of flu which developed into a nasty cough which caused me to tear my last rib (very eina). I have just found out that one of my staff has shingles – is it contagious ?? I know what it is but cant remember whether it is contagious or not. I know pregnant womens immune is low already and mine is even lower coz I have been sick and I really dont want to get shingles.

admin answers:

It is if you’ve never had chickenpox. If you’re not sure if you have chickenpox or not you should have a titer done to see if you’re immune. You should talk to your doctor about this and try to stay away from this coworker as much as possible. And don’t forget to wash those hands whenever possible or coming into contact with something after the coworker.

Lisa asks…

is shingles contagious even if there is no breakout? if so who can get it?

Is shingles highly contagious? What if the person is not broken out at the time and my face touches their face, would i still get it? What is shingles exactly? If they are broken out and my face touches their face would I get shingles?

admin answers:

Its only really contagious if there is a breakout. Shingles is caused by the chicken pox virus, and is always dormant in your body once you catch it. However you cant pass it on to other people unless you are having an outbreak. Typically, shingles outbreaks happen when people are already sick or when they are having immune system problems (such as people with HIV)

Carol asks…

How long are shingles contagious for?

My grandmother was going to come and visit me and my 4 month old daughter but she found out she is in the beginning stages of shingles. She got her meds asap (today) and was supposed to come visit on Friday. We live 2 states away…but how long should she wait before coming to visit my little one???

admin answers:

Are you contagious?
A person with shingles can pass the varicella-zoster virus to anyone who hasn’t had chickenpox. This usually occurs through direct contact with the open sores of the shingles rash. Once infected, the person will develop chickenpox, however, not shingles.

Chickenpox can be dangerous for some groups of people. Until your shingles blisters scab over, you are contagious and should avoid physical contact with:

* Anyone who has a weak immune system
* Newborns
* Pregnant women

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Herpes Simplex Kind 2 – The Virus That Leads to Genital Herpes

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Joe Homps

Herpes Simplex Kind 2 – The Virus That Leads to Genital Herpes

Article by Rudy Mcgowan







<strong>Conclusion – herpes treatment breakthrough solution</strong>So, just after discovering about how this herpes treatment method worked, I made the decision to administer this awesome one particular-minute therapy on myself. In 1 week my herpes sores were gone. Herpes treatment breakthrough is here.Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted illness that is often prompted by the Herpes Simplex Variety two Virus, or HSV2. HSV1 can also trigger herpes infections on and close to the genitals, despite the fact that this strain of the virus is much more typically associated with oral herpes, or else well-known as ‘Cold Sores’.Herpes Simplex Kind two infections are pretty prevalent, with results of a nationally representative study displaying that in the United States, 16 to 17 percent of men and women aged 19 to 49 have a genital HSV2 infection. These numbers equate to close to a person in six people, and HSV2 is slightly a lot more frequent in women than in guys.Most individuals with Herpes Simplex Form 2 infections display minor or no indications of infection, which could account for the significant infection price, as numerous individuals with the virus merely don’t know they have it, on account of exhibiting no indicators at all. All those that do present symptoms will come across that the disease can manifest in a selection of methods, however the most frequent symptoms involve:

Periodic outbreaks of blisters on and close to the genital region. These blisters eventually burst, leaving weeping sores, which can consider two to four weeks to heal if untreated.Flu like signs these kinds of as headache, fever, muscle and joint aches.Itching or tingling in the infected region, often accompanied by a rashThese signs or symptoms are most frequently at their worst through the to begin with outbreak, and might cut down in severity as time goes on.Treatment for Herpes Simplex Style 2 incorporates anti-viral therapy, all-natural anti-virals, and controlling outbreaks by means of managing diet regime, way of living and tension. If you imagine you may perhaps have HSV2, make sure you see your doctor for a diagnosis and to discuss therapy.Herpes zoster, also regarded as ‘shingles’, is a syndrome characterized by a distressing, unilateral vesicular rash, often restricted to the skin area provided by a individual nerve. Herpes zoster is generally brought about by a reactivation of the chicken-pox virus, which lies dormant in the spinal dorsal root ganglia. Common indicators involve discomfort in a distinct location, followed by a rash which steadily turns into pustular and then crusts more than a period of 7 to ten days. The pain is usually described by individuals as burning, throbbing or stabbing, and normally lasts up to 1 month. A very few patients may have generalized signs or symptoms these as headache, fever, malaise or fatigue.The Ayurvedic treatment method of herpes zoster is aimed at controlling the discomfort, healing localized indicators and preventing issues like neuralgia. In the first stages, when the ailment presents in the form of blisters, an ointment containing medicines like Chandan (Santalum album), Saariva (Hemidesmus indicus), Usheer (Vetiveria zizanioidis) and Haridra (Curcuma longa) is utilized on the affected location. As soon as the blisters collapse with ulcer formation, an ointment that contains Haridra, Daruharidra (Berberis aristata), Yashtimadhuk (Glycerrhiza glabra) and Mandukparni (Centella asiatica) is utilized on the affected skin.


About the Author

What is the greatest herpes remedy? Uncover the leading herpes outbreak treatments obtainable and educate your self about herpes and cold sores.

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An Overview of Whole Foods

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Joe Homps

An Overview of Whole Foods

Annemarie Colbin, in her book, Food and Healing, presents a chapter on altering diet to combat specific conditions. Her recommendations are based on her own experience as a student of macrobiotics and health food, and a teacher of natural healing and balanced eating. As well as her observations of those whom she treated in consultations, and the transformations of her students over the years. Despite her background in macrobiotics and vegetarianism, Annemarie isn’t dogmatic about food – she recognizes that what is healing for one person, during a particular period of their life, may not be healing for others, or even for that same person at different stages of their life.

She takes as her cue the fact that regular foods have been used for their medicinal value in most traditional cultures. The underlying principle is one of restoring balance. Illness is considered a state of imbalance within the body. And like in homeopathy, she believes that remedies can cause similar symptoms to that which they cure – if the symptoms they can cure are not present, and they are taken in sufficient quantity. So, the remedy should no longer be taken once the symptoms of imbalance, the illness or condition, disappears. Otherwise, the remedy may in fact cause similar symptoms to reappear. If this is the case, the remedy should not be taken again, as the remedies are (according to this principle), causing the new symptoms. Serious medical conditions she does not rely on food cures for. She recognizes that Western medicine also has its place. But food being what it is, can also be a useful healing adjunct in those situations.

One thing that impressed her was food’s ability to alter our metabolism quickly. She described this epiphany after cooking a meal for some South American friends, who were used to a diet that was high in protein and fats. When they ate the meal prepared by her, which was high in complex carbohydrates like whole grains and legumes, and low in fat, sugar (for dessert), and low in protein, they found alcohol affected them in a way it usually didn’t. The same amount they normally drank, which did not make them drunk with their usual fare, got them quite tipsy on hers. She observed from this that alcohol, being expansive in nature, balanced out the highly contractive protein and fat they normally ate. These ideas, of particular foods having an expansive or contractive nature, is one that she learnt from the Oriental healing systems she studied.

This approach touches on a core difference between Western understanding of both food, and medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine’s (TCM). TCM has as its conceptual underpinning, the study of relationships between things. Western approaches, to both nutrition and medicine, are based on a reductionist approach. They explore isolated nutrients, diseases that are studied under the microscope, with a symptom that then suggests possible causes, defined within a narrow and static frame. Ted Kaptchuk illustrates this when he describes how, when he was studying TCM in Macao, one of his teachers was talking about shingles. His teacher described how shingles on the face was different to shingles elsewhere, say, on the trunk. The reason behind this was that “the Chinese view demanded another perspective – seeing the relationship of the symptom to the whole body”. (Kaptchuk) he goes on to say: “The question of cause and effect is always secondary to the overall pattern…The total configurations, the patterns of disharmony, provide the framework for treatment.” (Kaptchuk)

References: Ted Kaptchuk, Chinese Medicine, The Web That Has No Weaver (Rider Books, London)
Annemarie Colbin, Food As Healing (Ballantine Books, New York)

Want to find out about dog hemorrhoids and removing hemorrhoids? Get tips from the Treating Hemorrhoids website.

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Shoot 3 Skin Problems at Once

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Joe Homps

Shoot 3 Skin Problems at Once

Article by tanmay sharma







Shingles symptoms are seen when the virus named varicella- zoster reinvades or gets reactivated in the body of a person. It is the same virus that causes the disease of chickenpox. The symptoms of this disease vary in each person. Let us have a look at some common and early shingles symptoms.

Early symptoms of shingles

• Upset abdomen• Fevers and chills• Swelling of the lymph nodes• Feeling of sickness• Swelling of the tender lymph nodes• Severe headaches• Sensations of burning on the skin• Excessive itchiness• Pain in the affected skin areas• Sensitivity of the skin towards light

Moving away from shingles, we take a look at the various types of skin cancer that can invade the human body. Skin cancers are extensively diverse. The type of skin cancer that affects a person depends on the type of skin cells of that person, from which the cancer arises. Each skin cancer appears distinctly on the superficial skin lining of the bearer. Some of the types of skin cancer are:

• Basal cell carcinoma• Squamous cell carcinoma• Malignant melanoma

Basal cell carcinoma is very common kind of skin cancer that dominates more than 90 % of the skin cancer cases in the U.S. Though most common, yet it is the least danger posing type of skin cancer. This is due to its slow growth and rare invasions to other parts of the body.

Squamous cell carcinoma is comparatively more dangerous and serious than the basal cell carcinoma. It causes spread and invasion to the vital organs of the body, from the skin, though slowly. The first area of attack, while spreading of this cancer, is the lymph nodes, which often trap the cancer cells before they spread further. The third type is the malignant melanoma, which is a skin cancer of the most serious kind. Its spread through blood and lymph nodes is very quick. To add to its severity, the fact that it mostly affects the internal body organs is enough.

The next skin condition that we need to discuss about is the skin hives. Hives are caused due to the release of the chemical called histamine on detection of some foreign materials in the body, which are considered by the immune system to be harmful but are actually not harmful to the body. Hives is a symptom of skin allergy. Hives treatment can be carried out by introduction of antihistamine drugs in the body of a hives- affected person. Some of the common antihistamines are diphenhydramine or benadryl, hydroxine or atarax, cyproheptadine or periactin, etc. These hives treatments are known to be sedative, i.e. they have sleepiness and drwosiness as side effects of consumption. Some non- sedating antihistamine curatives are Allegra, Claritin, Clarinex, and Zyrtec and so on. These are used in cases where the hives as seen to have persisted over 6 weeks. Hives treatment for children include medicating them with steroids. Doxepin is another medication, actually an anti depressant, which is also a potential antihistamine used for hives treatment.



About the Author

Shingles symptoms are seen when the virus named varicella- zoster re-invades or gets reactivated in the body of a person. It is the same virus that causes the disease of chickenpox.

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Your Questions About Shingles

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Joe Homps

Sandy asks…

Is the disease “Shingles” related to having had Chicken Pox as a child ?

Can one get “Shingles” without first having had Chicken Pox ?

admin answers:

YES to your first question, and
NO to your second question.
GOOD NEWS if you had chickenpox and worry about getting shingles
.
The first vaccine to prevent shingles, Merck’s Zostavax, has been approved in the USA for adults aged 60 or more. Shingles develops when the virus that causes chickenpox, varicella-zoster, is reactivated. After a childhood bout of chicken pox, the virus lays dormant for many years, ready to come into action when the carrier’s immune system weakens, either through age or illness.

Anyone who has ever had chickenpox is susceptible to developing shingles later on in life. 90% of humans get chickenpox. Of the approximately one million people in the USA who get shingles each year, nearly half are over 60.

There are 50 million Americans over the age of 60.

According to data so far, the vaccine offers protection for at least four years. Some wonder whether it may just postpone shingles, rather than prevent it completely. Merck has to conduct a long-term follow-up study.

Merck had applied for the vaccine to be approved for 50 year olds. However, the company had no data on the vaccine’s performance for people under 60. So, the FDA set the minimum age at 60.

Dr. J Goodman, FDA, said Zostavax is a booster vaccine. It boosts an older person’s immune system against the virus from re-emerging and causing shingles.

The single dose vaccine is on the market and cost about $ 160 – expensive but highly recommended for those at risk.

Carol asks…

can you tell me anything about the skin disease shingles?

i know it comes from having the chicken pox when youre a kid but is there an over the counter medicine?

admin answers:

They are a form of adult chicken pox that ususally runs its course in time. As with chicken pox once you have them you can not cure it.

They show up 30-40 years after the initial attack… And you may even get them a third time in another 30-40 years… But do not despair it means you’re having the blessing of a long life!!!

Robert asks…

How to get rid of shingles? (the disease)?

I’m pretty young. I’ve gotten shingles. I went to the doctors and got me
medicine but i just want to know some other techniques about keeping my shingles from being itchy!

admin answers:

Try a bath with baking soda in it. Baking soda is very soothing. These links may help.

Http://hubpages.com/hub/ShinglesContagious
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-symptoms
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/shingles/DS00098/DSECTION=symptoms

Laura asks…

what disease is called shingles?does it affect the brain?

i heard its only peculiar to white people.Is that true?

admin answers:

It’s called the varicella zosters virus, you probably had it (the virus not shingles) when you were younger, chicken pox. Anyone who had chicken pox can get shingles. The virus stays dormant in you body and when you get older it can arise if you are sick or stressed or for an unknown reason. My stepmom gets it every now and again. The rash usually breaks out on the trunk of your body. It’s painful and irritating but it doesn’t affect your brain. Potentially you can spread the virus to anyone who have’t had chicken pox and give it to them. (Mainly kids or someone who is immuno-supressed)

Mandy asks…

What parts of the world are most likely to come into contact with the disease ‘shingles’?

I need homework help!!!!

admin answers:

I was under the impression that Shingles is common in adults that have never had Chickenpox as children. So i guess anywhere where chickenpox occurs

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