Shingles

When a person catches Chicken Pox, they contract the varicella zoster virus. Once symptoms of Chicken Pox subside, the virus lays dormant in a person’s nervous system, sometimes for many years.  A flare up of the dormant virus is known as herpes zoster or more commonly, shingles. Any person who has had Chicken Pox may develop shingles at any time although it is unusual to suffer more from shingles more than once.

Symptoms

Shingles can be very painful. Normally an outbreak is identified by a tender skin rash that develops blisters. Any part of the body can be affected including the face, but shingles most commonly will form as a band on the torso area. This is because the virus works its way down through the nerves of the spinal cord and around the middle of the body, making the chest and stomach area the most commonly affected.

The shingles rash can last anything from a couple of days up to a few weeks. Sometimes the blisters on the rash may form a crust. Once the symptoms disappear, in most cases the rash will disappear entirely. In some more severe cases, the skin may be left scarred.

Can you catch shingles?

Shingles can only be spread to others who have had Chicken Pox before. It is spread through the fluid in the blisters.  However if you have never had Chicken Pox before and come into contact with a person with active shingles, you are at risk of catching Chicken Pox.

The virus can be easily spread through skin to skin contact or by touching clothing, bed sheets or dressings that have traces of the fluid from the blisters.

If you or other family members are not immune to Chicken Pox, you should try to keep the person with shingles isolated until the last blister has formed a crust and is no longer contagious. Remember, even if you have had Chicken Pox before, you are still at risk of contracting shingles.

Shingles in Pregnancy

If you are pregnant and have a case of shingles, your baby is safe. There is no risk of passing shingles onto the baby as you were already carrying the virus that causes shingles when you fell pregnant. However, if you have never had Chicken Pox before and catch it for the first time while pregnant, this is extremely dangerous for both you and your child. Medical treatment should be sought immediately.

Complications

Occasionally some people may have ongoing complications after the shingles rash has disappeared. This is called post-herpetic neuralgia. The pain experienced by shingles may last for months afterwards and in more severe cases, even years. This will normally only occur when the shingles broke out on the face, particularly the area around the eye. Sometimes it may even affect the eye itself.

Treatment

If you suspect you are getting a case of shingles, antiviral medication will help to reduce the pain and severity of the attack. For best results, the medication should be taken within 24 hours from the start of the rash, although it can be taken within the first three days.

In complicated cases of shingles including post-herpetic neuralgia, pain relieving medication and creams may be required.

Prevention

Both Chicken Pox and shingles can be prevented through vaccination. For children aged up to the end of primary school, the vaccines are normally administered free through the National Immunisation Program. For older children and adults, they may need to be paid for.

Have you or your children ever had a case of shingles? What did you do to relieve the pain?

If you become concerned about any symptoms please seek immediate medical attention we have some hotlines and suggested websites for further information and advice  https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/my-kids/babies/important-hotlines-websites/

SAHM takes no responsibility for any illness, injury or death caused by misuse of this information.  All information provided is correct at time of publication. 

Source:

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Shingles