Many people can remember a time when they were a little kid and tiny little red bumps began to form on different locations of their skin. The small bumps began to spread and began to itch. Remembering the pink color of the calamine lotion that was used to soothe the itching sensation, realizing that these bumps were chicken pox. It is common knowledge that once a person contracts chicken pox and the outbreak clears up, the person will not get an outbreak again. Yet there are unknown complications that may develop later in life from having the chicken pox. Herpes zoster, or commonly known as Shingles, is one of these complications. Not only is this a very painful condition, but can lead to other complications as well (Sampathkumar, P., et al, 2009). Shingles is a rash on the skin that is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chicken pox. The rash is extremely painful and is accompanied with many additional symptoms. The first symptoms are located on one side of the body and include tingling, pain, or burning sensations around these areas. The second symptom of Shingles is a red rash that develops in patches on the skin. Finally the rash then develops into small blisters that end up bursting, drying out, and then flaking off. Other common symptoms include abdominal pain, general ill feeling, headaches, and joint pain (Sampathkumar, P., et al, 2009). Chicken pox, or Varicella-Zoster, lies dormant in a person’s cerebral ganglia or in the ganglia of the posterior nerve roots after the person has an outbreak. Typically the virus will remain dormant for the rest of the person’s life, without a reoccurrence. Although there are instances when the virus will “awaken” or become active again,... ... middle of paper ... ...ifetime. Post-herpetic neuralgia is less common, and it is not completely understood why someone would develop this condition after an outbreak of Shingles. Doctors believe that there could be as little as 1 out of 1,000 people that will develop post-herpetic neuralgia (Mayo Clinic, 2010). As of today, there is yet to be a cure for both Shingles and Post-herpetic neuralgia. The only available treatments to date are pain management, steroidal creams, and the person’s ability to manage stress and illness. There is a Shingles vaccination that is available at most local pharmacies, yet this vaccine is only recommended for people 60 years and older (Center for Disease Control, 2009). Until a cure, or more effective treatment is discovered, many people will continue to suffer with the pain that is associated with both Shingles and Post-herpetic neuralgia.
The Shingles is an extremely painful condition. Patients who suffer from the Shingles face immense physical pain. For patient L, a 21-year-old female from Davis, California, it was no different. She characterized her experience with the Shingles as starting off with sharp pain traveling up her back through her spinal cord, causing massive headaches. While she was in a lot of physical pain, patient L, being the lackadaisical 21-year-old she is, choose to ignore her discomfort. However, as the pain grew exponentially worse, she began to develop a brick-red rash as well as “puss-filled bulbs” on her back. These bulbs were extremely painful, especially when they were opened. The pain grew worse and the bulbs continued to protrude on her back. She
Shingles, herpes zoster, is a very contagious and painful rash, or blister that appears on the skin. These rashes most commonly appear on the sides of the body in stripes. The stripes are made up of many very painful blisters caused by a certain type of virus. The varicella zoster, most commonly known as the chicken pox virus attacks the nerve roots in that area. The herpes zoster virus is in the herpes family, including HSV, herpes simple virus, which causes cold sores, fever blisters, and genital herpes. (WebMD, 2011) Most people are required to get the chicken pox shot when they are children although some do not. The chicken pox shot helps to keep out the virus by keeping it dormant in the nerves. The varicella zoster virus stays in a few cells; this is how shingles appear suddenly. It appears when the dormant cells become active in the later years of life.
Herpes Zoster (HZ), or Shingles, is a cutaneous disease, characterized by a unilateral, dermatomal, and often painful vesicular rash. Following the primary infection of varicella zoster virus (VZV), the virus remains latent in the dorsal or cranial sensory ganglia. The outbreak typically results from reactivation of latent VZV.1 Herpes zoster (HZ) arises years or decades after primary infection with VZV, which is known in clinical settings as varicella and, in many instances, as chicken pox.1 HZ is primarily a disease in older adults or individuals with a weakened immune system. VZV is responsible for an estimated four cases of herpes zoster infection per one thousand people per year, with approximately 50% of these cases affecting patients at least 50 years old.1, 2 The number of incidences tends to increase proportionally with advancing age. Approximately 10-20% of the United States population will develop HZ, and about 50% are predicted to develop HZ in their life by the time they are 85.1, 2 Even though the number of people in the United States who get chickenpox each year has declined dramatically due to vaccinations, clinicians need to be educated about preventative strategies along with the current treatment options. This paper addresses correlating signs and symptoms of HZ, as well as existing treatments of acute HZ and post-herpetic neuralgia. It outlines current treatment strategies, along with deficiency of newest drugs and procedure implementations.
Shingles is caused by a varicella virus. Shingles is a reactivation of chickenpox. If you had chickenpox as a child you are more likely to get shingles as an adult. If you had chickenpox the virus travels to the nerve cells called dorsal root ganglia. They are bundles of nerves that transmit sensory information from the skin to the brain. From there the virus can hide from the immune system and remain inactive, but alive for many years in most cases for a lifetime. If and when the virus becomes active it becomes known as shingles. The virus spreads to the ganglion and the nerves connecting to it. The virus can spread anywhere from the spinal cord to the bloodstream. Shingles itself is not transmitted from person to person. The name for the pain that shingles causes are called posterpetic neuralgia (PHN). Words to
Shingles emerges from the same virus responsible for chicken pox called varicella-zoster. While infections of the chicken pox eventually run their course, the virus may lay dormant in the nervous system
It usually starts with a skin rash and gradually develops on the body and head. The rash appears on the second day after the person gets the infection. Finally the rash forms into blisters which then burst and scabs over. It is highly communicable and easily spreads through cough and sneezes. Pregnant women and people who have a suppressed immune system have a higher tendency and are at a risk of severe complication. The incubation period of the disease is between 2-3 weeks. During winter and spring season, people are more prone to get the disease and become infected.
Patients affected with smallpox will generally begin to show symptoms 9-12 days after exposure. These symptoms begin with depression, fever, rigors, vomiting, headache, and backache. In several cases patients have become disoriented and/or delirious. In other cases a distinct rash will begin to form on face, hands and legs in this phase. All others with begin to notice the rash within a few days. Following the outbreak of the rash on the face, it begins to spread to the chest. Cuts that have formed on face and body begin to turn into blisters and eventually into scabs during the healing process. The virus may attack the eyes, lungs, throat, heart and/or liver and lead to death.
If you ever had the chicken pox then you have the shingles virus. Shingles occurs when the varicella virus is awakening in the body. Signs of the shingles include tingling and a lot of pain also includes a blistering rash. Early symptoms of the shingles include fever and general weakness. Then a few days later you start to notice pink or red patches and rash like on one side of your body. The shingles often appears around the rib cage or waist. This is referred to as a shingles band or the shingles girdle. This can cover a wide area on one side of the body and it can be very painful if you wear tight clothing. Then there’s the ophthalmic shingles, it affects the nerve that controls the facial sensation and the movement in your face. This can appear around your eyes on the forehead and the nose. The symptoms for this are headaches, redness and swelling of the eyes, this can cause the eyes to have double vision or blurred vision. The rash that shingles develops is blisters with fluid inside them similar to chicken pox. New and new blisters continue to develop for a couple of days. It’s...
In 1992, there was approximately 158,000 people reported to have Chickenpox across the world (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). As a result, there are 100 deaths that are publicly known (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). These deaths consisted of mainly adults (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). Chickenpox is more serious in adults than in children (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). Adults, infected with the Chickenpox virus, have a 20 percent chance of developing severe complications, such as pneumonia (National Vaccine Information Center, 2017). Other Chickenpox complications that may occur are lesions, bacterial infections, and brain inflammation (National Vaccine Information Center,
The infectious agent of chickenpox is the virus varicella-zoster. This virus lives in the nervous system for decades and causes shingles, a very painful rash that follows a nerve pathway. Chickenpox causes the infected person to break out into itchy blisters – usually 250-500 covering the body. In Chickenpox: Symptoms, causes, and prevention Christian Nordqvist lists the symptoms of chicken pox as malaise, fever, muscle aches, loss of appetite and nausea, and in severe cases, difficulty breathing. It can cause pneumonia in adults. When pregnant women contract chickenpox, their unborn child is at risk for shingles within the first two years of life. As well, some babies may develop congenital varicella syndrome, which may include:
Measles Measles is a highly contagious disease. It is caused by an RNA virus that changes constantly. Measles symptoms usually include a bad cough, sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, sensitivity to light, and a very high fever. Red patches with white grain like centers appear along the gum line in the mouth two to four days after the first symptoms show. These patches are called Koplik spots because Henry Koplick first noticed them in 1896.
Chickenpox is an infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The infection causes an itchy rash that turns into blisters, which eventually scab over. This virus spreads easily from person to person (contagious). It is contagious starting 1–2 days before the rash appears. It remains contagious until the blisters become crusted. Chickenpox can be very serious for adults. Complications of chickenpox include:
The symptoms of psoriasis differ from type to type, although inflamed, scaly lesions are present in all five types. The most common form of the disease, plaque psoriasis, is identified by small bumps that begin to grow and become scaly. These lesions flake easily, but removing these patches can cause the tender skin below to bleed. In the Guttate type, small, individual, red drops form. This type does not have as much scaling as plaque psoriasis. The drops usually clear up on their own, but may also reappear as a different form of psoriasis, usually plaque. Inverse psoriasis usually occurs in places where the skin folds, such as the genitals, breasts, armpits or the backs of knees. This type will appear red, yet it will be smooth and dry. Also, no scaling will occur. Pustular psoriasis is a type that's significantly more rare. It is also more painful. In this type, blisters filled with non-infectious pus appear within a few hours and then dry up and peel within another two days. Severe medical risks exist for those who have this particular form of psoriasis, due to its side effects; exhaustion, anemia, weight loss, fever, chills, rapid pulse rate, severe itching and muscle weakness. Even less common than pustular psoriasis is erythrodermic psoriasis. This type is...
Chicken pox, also known as varicella, is a contagious viral disease. Varicella was first recorded more than 400 years ago. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, or VZV. VZV is a type of herpes virus. The varicella-zoster virus can cause two diseases. It can result in chickenpox or shingles. Chickenpox is typically mild, but can sometimes cause serious complications. chickenpox can be serious. A vaccine was developed for VZV in 1944, but before then it was a common adolescent disease. For children, chickenpox is not a serious illness, but if an adult that did not have chicken pox as a child contracts it, it can become serious. The same virus that causes chicken pox can also cause shingles. After having chicken pox, the virus lies dormant in in your body, but has the possibility of re-emerging as shingles during adulthood.
Chicken pox is not an Entrée that is served at one’s family holiday dinner party. Chicken pox is an extremely contagious disease caused by the Varicella zoster virus. Chicken Pox is not a disease that is known to affect other animals or insects. Unlike other diseases, where human and other animal close interaction causes the exchange of virus and disease this disease did not come from a human-chicken interaction. The name chicken pox has been stuck for generations; there are many theories behind its name. Chicken pox could sneak up on its young victims in the form of an innocent touch, or by inhaling tiny particles from a cough, or sneeze which then enters the respiratory tract. Once the virus attaches itself to it gracious, and unwilling host cells it causes a crimson rash that could be located on different parts of the body. The rash is highly irritating which makes it almost impossible not scratch. In the United States each year about 5,000 to 9,000 people are hospitalized, and around 100 people die from the microbe Varicella zoster that causes chicken pox.