About Shingles

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.

It is not known why the inactive cells suddenly become active again although scientists and doctors have narrowed down the most common targets of shingles. Those primary targets are people over the age of sixty, those who are stricken with chicken pox before the age of one, and those whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight off any illnesses.

The immune system of a human can be weakened by a few things, but mainly illnesses and some medications such as chemotherapy and radiation. Approximately one million people a year are diagnosed with shingles, but this only accounts for the people that went to the doctor. People over the age of sixty are twice as likely to get shingles then those under sixty. The chance of getting shingles rises with age, after 60 it rises much faster. (http://www.shinglesinfo.com/risk-factors.html, 2011)

If a child or adult has been ex...

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Shingles has affected many people over the years. New discoveries are being made every day to treat Postherpatic Neuralgia and just the overall virus. If a cure is found for shingles, it should also work for chicken pox. They are the same virus, but chicken pox is the initial stage. A cure for shingles would help the young and old.

Works Cited

PubMed Health. (2010). Herpes Zoster Symptoms. Retrieved October 25, 2011 from

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001861/

Shingles E-med. (2011). Shingles Risk Factors. Retrieved October 25, 2011 from

http://shingles.emedtv.com/shingles/shingles-risk-factors.html

Web MD: Shingles Health Center. (2011) Shingles Symptoms. Retrieved October 26, 2011 from

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-symptoms