How Contract Shingles
If you are pregnant and have shingles, it is likely that your primary care doctor will discuss your case with a specialist to decide if the benefits of antiviral drugs significantly outweigh the potential risks. Shingles will not harm your unborn baby. If you have shingles rash, do not share towels or flannels, do not swim or practice contact sports. This will help prevent the virus from being transmitted to someone who has not had chickenpox. But even young people who otherwise appear healthy can sometimes develop shingles. Although it is not known exactly why the virus is reactivated, it is believed to be linked to a decrease in immunity (protection against infections and diseases). Shingles itself cannot be transmitted from one person to another. However, the virus that causes shingles, the varicella-zoster virus, can be transmitted from a person with active shingles to another person who has never had chickenpox. It should also be borne in mind that shingles is less contagious than chickenpox, and the risk of a person with shingles spreading the virus is low if the rash is covered.
I hope this information will be useful to you. A person must have had chickenpox in the past to develop shingles. A person cannot get shingles from a person who has shingles. However, the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles can be transmitted from a person with active shingles to a person who has never had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine. The person exposed to the virus would develop chickenpox, not shingles. A person with shingles can spread the virus if the rash is in the bladder phase. The blister liquid is filled with viral particles. The virus is spread by direct contact with the rash or by inhaling viral particles that mix in the air. Once the rash has developed crusts, the person is no longer contagious.
A person is not infectious before the appearance of blisters or if the pain persists after the rash (postherpetic neuralgia). Shingles rash usually appears on one side of your body and develops on the area of skin related to the affected nerve. It is possible to have shingles more than once, but it is very rare to have it more than twice. The main symptom of shingles is pain, followed by a rash that develops into itchy blisters that resemble chickenpox in appearance. New blisters can appear for up to a week, but a few days after their appearance, they become yellowish, flatten and dry out. It`s unusual for a person with shingles to be referred to the hospital, but your primary care doctor may consider looking for a specialist if: The FDA has the Shingrix vaccine and it`s considered more than 90% effective. The CDC recommends two doses of Shingrix for the prevention of shingles and its complications in healthy adults 0 years of age and older, as well as in people 19 years of age and older who are or will be immunocompromised or immunocompromised due to disease or treatment. You get it even if you`ve already had shingles. You should also get it, even if you already had the previous Zostavax vaccine, which was withdrawn from the market in 2020. Anyone who has ever had chickenpox can develop shingles.
Most adults in the United States had chickenpox as children, before the advent of routine childhood vaccination, which now protects against chickenpox. The most common antidepressants used to treat shingles pain are known as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). Examples of CTA most commonly prescribed to people with shingles include amitriptyline, imipramine, and nortriptyline. In such cases, the person exposed to the virus could develop chickenpox, but they would not develop shingles. The virus is spread through direct contact with fluid from rash blisters caused by shingles. A person with active shingles can spread the virus if the rash is in the bladder phase, however, a person is not infectious before the blisters appear. Once the rash has developed crusts, the person is no longer contagious. Antiviral drugs are usually not necessary for healthy children, as they usually have only mild symptoms of shingles and have a low risk of developing complications. In addition to painkillers, some people with shingles may also be prescribed antiviral tablets that last from 7 to 10 days. Commonly prescribed antiviral drugs include acyclovir, valaciclovir and famciclovir. Your GP or pharmacist will usually be able to diagnose shingles based on your symptoms and the onset of your rash.
Testing is usually not necessary. Postherpetic neuralgia can cause severe nerve pain (neuralgia) and intense itching that persists after the rash and other symptoms of shingles disappear. You should see your GP if you are under the age of 18, are pregnant or have a weakened immune system (the body`s natural defence system) and you think you have been exposed to someone with chickenpox or shingles and have never had chickenpox. The bubbles that form contain live viruses. If a person who has never had chickenpox has direct contact with an open bladder or something with the fluid in it, they can become infected with the virus and develop chickenpox. A varicella vaccine is available and it is hoped that people who are immune to chickenpox will be less likely to develop shingles later in life. You may also be referred to a specialist if you have an unusually persistent case of suspected shingles that does not respond to treatment, or if you have been diagnosed with the disease more than twice. If not treated immediately, there is a risk that ophthalmic shingles can lead to permanent vision loss. You can think of shingles as a double blow of infections. Everyone who catches it first had a case of chickenpox, often decades earlier. Most people who develop shingles have only one episode in their lives.
However, you may have shingles more than once. If one of your eyes is affected by shingles (ophthalmic shingles), there is a risk that you will develop other problems in the affected eye, such as: To relieve the pain caused by shingles, your GP or pharmacist may recommend painkillers. Some of the most important medications for relieving pain associated with shingles are described below. Shingles is a disease that causes a painful rash. .
Recent Comments