Archive for the 'Shingles' Category

Are you having painful rash of small blisters on your body?

It is the condition called as shingles, also known as herpes zoster.

You can get shingles only if you have got chicken pox previously.

The reason for getting shingles after you have chicken pox is the virus that causes chicken pox stays in your body in certain nerve cells.

Most of the time the chicken pox virus remains inactive in nerve root cells of the body.

As you get older or if your immune system gets weaker, the chicken pox virus awakens within the nervous system and escapes from there to cause shingles.

What are the signs to identify shingles?

Shingles include blistering rash, severe burning pain, tingling or extreme sensitivity to the skin. It usually limits to one side of the body and lasts about a month. Sometimes, you experience the pain few days before the rash appears.

When your rash becomes worst, the pain can be extremely severe. The rash begins with reddish bumps. Within few days, the bumps turn into blisters. You also feel stinging or burning pain.