Medical Questions » Viruses Questions » Question No. 1027
| Question: | I am just recovering from shingles, and my doctor says its connected with chickenpox. Can you explain this? |
| Answer: | Shingles is caused by a virus called Herpes zoster, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox.
When you were a child, you had chickenpox at some stage. Since then, the virus has not left your body, but has migrated to the roots of the nerves along vour spinal cord, where it can remain in an inactive stage for the rest of your life.
At times of stress, either emotional or physical, or when you have another illness diat lowers your resistance, the virus may become active again and start to multiply and move along the nerve. This causes the skin and other tissues around the area the nerve supplies to become very painful, and this is the first :~-mptom of shingles.
Usually only one or two nerves are affected, and almost invariably on only one side of the body. Any nerve may be affected, and it can occur on the belly or chest (which are the most common sites), or on the face or legs. The worst variety occurs around the eye and ear, where dizziness, ear noises and rarely blindness may occur.
When the rapidly multiplying virus particles reach the end of the nerve, an acutely tender blistering rash occurs. This often forms an acutely tender belt-like line around one half of the body. The rash dries out slowly and disappears over several weeks, usually healing completely, but occasionally leaving some scarring on sensitive areas such as the neck and face.
Tablets are now available to cure shingles, but you must start taking them widiin diree days of the rash first appearing, so never hesitate to see your doctor if MI develop a painful rash—you could save yourself weeks or months of pain and discomfort.
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