Causes of Shingles

A very painful and incapacitating condition, known as the shingles, is caused by similar virus (herpes zoster) that causes chickenpox.

When a person catches chicken pox, this virus just lies inactive and undeveloped in your skin cells, for years, even decades. Once your immune system is at its weakest, because of age, another disease and even stress that gets out of control, your immune system cannot hold back this dormant virus, and it becomes active again, causing infection, rashes and an itchy, burning sensation on the area of the skin where the virus laid dormant for years.

Skin swelling and soreness will erupt on one part of one's face or on one part of one's body. Normally, this condition would usually take place on these areas: your chest, on your abdomen, on your back, and/or even on your face. At times, it would also affect the skin on your neck, arms and feet, or even on your lower back.

The pain can be unbearably painful, terribly itchy, and sore to touch. The bad news is that when the blisters heal, in about a week or two, these form into scabs, but the pain would persist.

Although shingles is not an infectious disease, being in contact with someone who has the rash may cause young children to have the chickenpox, pregnant women, and adults who have not experienced the chickenpox would also get infected by chickenpox.

Shingles becomes painful because the nerve just below the skin's surface gets affected.

Additional information that you may need to know is that herpes zoster, the virus, is common in people with a declining immune system, such as people with AIDS or individuals who are taking anticancer medication or drugs that are prescribed for individuals who suffer immunosuppressant condition.

The elderly would tend to be more affected by the shingles, because their immune system is fragile, including their health. On the whole, a person's health and nutrition could at most times, help influence the seriousness of one's sickness and how long it would take the person to recover.

When a person is about to have this disease here are the signs and indicators that you may need to be wary of.

In less that a week, before your skin breaks out, one would typically suffer over-fatigue, at times, fever, and even the chills. At rare times would the person suffer from gastro intestinal problems.

When nearing the week, the person's skin area where the virus has lain dormant, or on the part where the 'mother' chicken pox has healed (most times the biggest chicken pox would leave a scar, and oftentimes, is thought of as the 'mother' or 'eye' of the chicken, and this area develops excessively receptive skin.

Small blisters would erupt on the 4th or 5th day. Scabs on the length of the path of your nerve would redden forming a line. This line of skin would be extra receptive to touch and very painful. About a week later these would heal.