Mandy asks…
What are the dangers of contracting the shingles and the prevalence of the disease in society now?
and also if there are many possible future treatments/ cures etc, eg vaccines? thanks
admin answers:
Everything you want to know about shingles!
Susan asks…
Are shingles an HIV related disease?
i just want to know whether tis is a fact or a myth about shingles being an HIV related disease.I have heard people say this but am not really sure,help me understand.
admin answers:
No, they are herpes zoster.
Http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/shingles.html
Mary asks…
Person with past SHINGLES, pulmonary and heart disease gets this every day…?
She had shingles two years ago exactly and complains of incredible itching every night a little while after dinner. And also at other times during the day. She’s in her eighties, has COPD and CHF, high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation. Is this itching for real (it is all over her back, but especially in part of the area where the shingles developed), or is it just another elderly persons’ “acquired” habit?
admin answers:
Yes, the itching is really there, and yes, it is probably still the shingles. Shingles is a viral infection, so it stays in your body for life and can pop back up just like any other viral infection. She should be taking valtrex or acyclovir to help this.
Thomas asks…
can the disease shingles be spread merely by touch of the person who has it?
how exactly does a person get it from another person
admin answers:
Shingles, or the Herpes Zoster virus, can be spread by touching the shingles rash if the rash is in the blistering stage. If the rash is drying and crusted over, the person is no longer contagious; the person is also not contagious before the blisters show up. If the person with shingles wears clothing over the rash, it would be very difficult to spread it to somebody else.
If the rash is everywhere on the person’s body, there is a higher risk of it spreading not only by contact, but also possibly by the airborne route.
Keep in mind that only a person who has never had chicken pox (or the chicken pox vaccine) need worry about avoiding contact with a person with shingles. A person who has had chicken pox cannot “catch” shingles from another.
Best wishes.
David asks…
What is Shingles disease?
I don’t have it, my cousin does and I’m staying away from her. She lives in another city thank god.
admin answers:
Herpes zoster is what many people call “shingles”.
The varicella-zoster virus, or VZV, is the virus that causes chicken pox. The virus runs its course and the disease goes through its stages. If the body is able to kill the virus, there won’t be long-term effects. If the body is unable to kill the virus, it will evetually retreat into spinal nerves and go dormant. Sometimes for years.
Often great and prolonged stress and/or poor immunity reactivate the VZV, bringing it out of hiding. It travels along the path of a nerve and the viral infection that results cause a herpes zoster outbreak. It typically affects one side of the torso, wrapping from mid-front to mid-back. It can however show up on the neck or face. It starts as a tingling that becomes painful and burning and becomes an itchy rash with blisters. There can be pain without the rash. There can be fever, headache, light sensitivity and abdominal upset. It’s not fatal but it can be extremely painful. The virus can affect internal organs as well.
The condition, herpes zoster, isn’t itself contagious but the virus, VZV, is contagious. It’s in the fluid in the blisters and can be transmitted though direct skin-to-skin contact. If someone has already had chicken pox or has been vaccinated against chicken pox, they cannot be affected. But if someone has not had chicken pox or been vaccinated, they can develop chicken pox. Herpes zoster (shingles) cannot be transmited from one person to another. An h. Zoster outbreak is contagious until all the blisters have erupted and crusted over. The entire process may take 3-4 weeks.
Although, if someone’s going to develop herpes zoster, they are usually over 50 but it can occur at any age, young or old and everything in between. There is a vaccine, Zostavax, recommended for adults over the age of 60 which can prevent h. Zoster or lessen the duration and severity of outbreaks. There are antiviral medications both oral and topical that can help relieve symptoms.
You can visit your cousin even when she’s having an outbreak, although she might not feel much like having company at that time, as long as you’re immune to the varicella-zoster virus, as long as she keeps the rash covered and as long as she and all her visitors practice frequent handwashing.
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