Shingles Symptoms And Treatment

        One of the most interesting things that can be said about the shingles symptoms is that they are tricky. Very tricky. Actually, they can easily be confused with just about any other skin condition until it is too late and the herpes zoster has already fully developed. This phenomenon is known in the medical world as mimic, a sort of very smart imitation of other diseases' symptoms. It helps the shingles to infect more people, to develop thoroughly and it gets the pathogen agent the time it needs to replicate. Notice the use of the word replicate and not reproduce. That is because the said pathogen that causes shingles is not a bacterium, but a virus: the varicella - zoster virus. If it sounds somewhat familiar, it might be because the same virus causes chicken pox, usually a lot of years earlier.

        But going back to the clever shingles symptoms, here is another amazing fact about them: the very first one of the shingles symptoms appears about fifteen to twenty years before the disease itself. The moment that you present with chicken pox as a child it becomes clear that, at some point in your life, you will develop shingles. The varicella - zoster virus has entered your body and it will lay dormant until it finds the right time to attack.

        Usually, when your body has lowered immunity or is already fighting another infection. Also, pregnant women share their antibodies with the fetus, leaving them more vulnerable to the attacks of the virus.

        Another piece of information that can prove itself to be useful about the shingles symptoms might be the following: they tend to show up in stages, coinciding with the three different stages of the disease. In the first phase, a terribly annoying itch appears. Normally, it is localized and it extends no more than ten centimeters in length and five in width, pointing out that there is where the rash and blisters will come to be. Accompanying the itch are nausea, vomiting, headaches, stomachaches and even muscular weakness. What should never appear as part of the shingles symptoms is fever. If you notice your temperature rising more than normal, you have to alert your physician. You do not suffer from a case of shingles.

        In the second stage, on the same patch of skin that the itch manifested itself, some blisters and redness will emerge. They hurt. Very much. Under no circumstances are you to break the pustules and drain the fluid. It does nothing else but make the pain worse and spread the disease, which is usually self contained.

Shingles treatment: is it necessary or not?

        Here is the thing about the shingles treatment: it does not cure the disease. Basically, the shingles treatment is used for one thing and one thing only: to alleviate the symptoms. Yes, it is fair to consider shingles and the flu rather similar. They are.

        Many of the drugs that can be included in a shingles treatment scheme seem somewhat preposterous, especially if they do not work. Because that is the truth. Your physician will prescribe antiviral medication, like acyclovir, and you might expect it to kill the varicella - zoster virus. Actually, it does not do that. Its effect is just strong enough to turn the active virus into an inactive form.

        However, one might argue that shingles is self - contained in most cases, making the treatment with antiviral drugs useless. Well, this is the moment when the second purpose of the shingles treatment comes into play: it helps speed the healing process and it alleviates the pain. For those that have suffered through a shingles outbreak, the second one is not to be ignored.

        Therefore, the conclusion over the necessity of the shingles treatment remains entirely at the preference of the patient and the advice of the attending physician.