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Diseases shingles originated from varicella-zoster virus and dwells in people who had previous history of chicken pox. The viruses in diseases shingles remain and lie dormant in the nerve tissue of your body even for years and there is a tendency of recurrence. A person above the age of fifty has a high risk of infecting diseases shingles again and as the age goes older, the risk is getting higher.
It is estimated that diseases shingles affects more than five hundred thousand people early and 2 out 10 persons develop this disease once in their lifetime. People infected with diseases shingles have a tendency of spreading the virus to other people who have no history of chicken pox before. This is because diseases shingles has the same virus as the chicken pox and people who have not had chicken pox will develop chicken pox for the first time.
Early signs and symptoms of diseases shingles numbness, itching, tingling, burning sensation and pain followed with rashes and blisters on one side of the body or face within 14 days. Rashes more often begins as clusters of small bumps that soon develop into fluid-filled blisters, then filled with pus, break open, and form crusty scabs. The scabs peel off and skin heals in about 4-5 weeks. Not all people will have pleasant, recovery. If you can’t resist scratching the itchy rash and you keep scratching, it will cause skin damage and will develop a bacterial infection requiring antibiotic treatment. After sever infection, the skin could be damaged severely and this can be unsightly that would requiring operation by plastic surgery.
The virus under certain conditions, can reactivate and begin to reproduce It could be related to aging or the disease itself. The virus travels along the nerve path to the skin's surface and causes diseases shingles, once activated. Other complications of diseases shingles may affect hearing and vision if the virus infects the eyes and cornea and causes temporary to permanent blindness. Another complication is the development of postherpetic neuralgia, if the diseases shingles continue for weeks; months or even years after the rashes are healed.
You can avoid diseases shingles by staying away from people who are infected with the disease. Diseases shingles can easily infect others with low immune systems. It includes those who are undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment, HIV positive, suffering with stress or depression, and those with transplant operations. To relieve pain, you can use over-the counter pain reliever and if it’s not working the doctor will prescribe a higher dosage. Antiviral therapy may is effective and will reduce the course of development of more disease shingles if symptoms are treated earlier.
Fortunately, there is currently research going on to find and develop a vaccine to prevent the diseases shingles. Merck & Co., Inc is formulating the vaccine in collaboration with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. They are studying the feasibility of using the vaccine to older people aged 55 and finding out if it reduces severity of diseases shingles in adults. This vaccine is not available for public use until five years.