Shingles

Shingles or Herpes Zoster in medical jargon is your second attack of chickenpox!

Yes it is exactly the same virus that causes chickenpox, but second time around it's shingles.

You would not develop shingles unless you have already had chickenpox.

	Symptoms
	The shingles rash is very similar to that of chickenpox.
	Causes
	The immune system's ability to zap the chickenpox virus gets weaker as you get further from the original infection. One day you may meet the chickenpox virus again but your resistance has fallen to such a level that the virus takes hold. This is one theory. Another is that the virus lays dormant or kept under control by our resistance, then when we are low perhaps after another infection, or at times of stress, bereavement or after an operation, the virus starts to incubate due to the low resistance. Again it incubates or grows in your body for 2-3 weeks. Then instead of affecting you everywhere the nasty little virus picks out one nerve in your body. It could be on your face, on your neck, back or bottom. But only one nerve is affected. The first thing the person feels is pain and discomfort on that nerve as the virus travels down the nerve from the spine at the back around to the front. This usually takes 2-3 days. Sometimes we see a person with pain that cannot be explained, then lo and behold a rash appears, almost identical to the chickenpox rash, but restricted to the area of the body served by that one nerve. The rash is clearly demarcated to one side of the body and does not travel across from one side to another.
	Treatment
	You can treat the rash with calamine lotion, just as you would with chickenpox. You can also take a course of anti-viral tablets that will help to speek up your recover time.
	Recommended web sites
	Shingles A leaflet from MedInfo Shingles A leaflet from Patient UK

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