What is Shingles? I thought this illness was a thing of the past, like measles, but apparently people still get Shingles. In the past year, 2 of my former coworkers and my stepsister have come down with this illness, so I was curious. What is Shingles, how do you get it, and is it contagious?
Shingles is a skin rash that is caused by the same virus that causes Chicken Pox. The Shingles virus, called Varicella Zoster Virus (VZW) is actually a member of the herpes family of viruses, and anyone who has had Chicken Pox actually has the Shingles virus lying dormant in their bodies.
Does this mean everyone who has had Chicken Pox will get Shingles as well? Not necessarily. The Shingles virus, while always present in our bodies once we have had Chicken Pox (which means I have the Shingles dormant virus, too), doesn’t always come to play in the form of Shingles later. In most people, Shingles never comes to light, while in unfortunate others, Shingles can become an active virus and result in the painful skin rash that Shingles causes.
Shingles is normally activated out of dormant status in our bodies by emotional stress and immune deficiency (mostly by AIDS sufferers or chemotherapy), which weakens our defenses against the virus and causes it to react into a full blown attack, but anyone can actually get Shingles if they’ve ever had Chicken Pox at any given time. It is unclear what causes Shingles in otherwise healthy individuals (like everyone I know who has recently gotten Shingles), so basically if you’ve had Chicken Pox you’ll either get Shingles at some point or you won’t.
Shingles occurs most frequently in adults over 60, and there are a reported 1,000,000 cases of Shingles in the US every year. Once again, Shingles can strike anyone at any time who has ever had Chicken Pox, however healthy. While Shingles is a part of the herpes family of viruses, it is not of the same strain as the genital herpes viruses, so people who have genital herpes are not at risk of Shingles unless they have also had Chicken Pox at some point of their lives.
Shingles is contagious, but only to people who have not yet had Chicken Pox, oddly enough. The reason for this is that people who have had Chicken Pox already have the Shingles virus, so they can’t catch it again from a Shingles sufferer. Even more odd, A person who has Shingles who spreads it onto someone else who has not yet had Chicken Pox simply gives the new victim Chicken Pox instead of Shingles. The Shingles virus is then dormant in the new sufferer’s body to become active whenever it wants (if ever). A person who has already had Chicken Pox will not be affected by a person who has Shingles as they already have the virus in their bodies.
Symptoms of Shingles includes burning pain or sensitive skin for a week or so before the rash well-known of Shingles actually appears. Shingles can be hard to determine until the telltale red, blistery rash appears on the skin, making the Shingles known. The blisters can burst and then regrow every 3 to 5 days, and from onset to disappearance the virus can be active for up to a month. Some people experience the the burning pain of Shingles without the blistering at all. The Shingles virus is contagious from onset of pain to when the blisters on the skin burst and scab over.
Treatment for Shingles, oddly enough, includes the same antibiotic used to treat genital herpes outbreaks, even though the 2 viruses are not immediately related. If you fear you may have Shingles, it’s important to get to your doctor immediately to help treat the virus as soon as possible to help lessen the outbreak with antibiotics. Doctors also often prescribe pain medications along with antibiotics to help make the Shingles outbreak feel less severe. Once Shingles has flared up once in the body and gone dormant again, it can flare up again, but once again, it is unclear on whether or not the virus will make another active appearance.
There is a vaccine for Shingles, but it is only available for adults over 60 to help lessen the severity of Shingles should it happen. The Chicken Pox vaccine available to children before getting Chicken Pox protects against Shingles as well, so children who have not yet been exposed to Chicken Pox are encouraged to get the Chicken Pox vaccine. People with compromised immune systems are not given the Shingles vaccine because it contains a small amount of the Chicken Pox virus and can lead to flareups and complications. Basically, if you have already had Chicken Pox and carry the Shingles virus, the vaccine to help battle Shingles can simply help to lessen the severity and likelihood of getting Shingles in an older age when it is more prevalent, but not eradicate one’s chances of getting Shingles entirely.
Source:
www.medicinenet.com/shingles/article.htm
