Dr. Wojo. Healthy Living. Simplified.

When most people think of shingles, they think of seniors. While people over the age of 60 are most likely to get shingles, younger adults can as well. A combination of stress, poor diet and a traumatic event - such as the death of a loved one - can tax your immune system. If that happens, and if you have had the chickenpox before, you are at risk for developing shingles - nearly 1,000,000 people get shingles in the U.S. each year.
Ask anyone who has had shingles and they’ll tell you that it is a very uncomfortable, sometimes excruciating, experience. After you’ve had the chickenpox virus, the virus remains inactive within your nervous system. When your immune system is compromised and the virus is reactivated, the virus is released from nerve cells and travels down the nerves to the skin region - thus making the skin of the affected area hypersensitive.

Initially, you may experience fever, headache and general malaise - and not suspect shingles. The next symptoms include burning, itching, a pins-and-needles sensation, tenderness or even intense stabs of pain on the skin. Within days, a rash of small red blisters breaks out and continues to do so for three to five days. The rash follows your nerve line and usually appears on only one side of your torso. In some cases, the rash can appear on the face or eyes. If shingles do appear near your eyes, seek medical attention.
Similar to the chicken pox, the blisters will eventually pop, ooze, crust over and heal. This may take three to four weeks. You may also experience pain in areas where blisters have not broken out. Some people also experience postherpetic neuralgia - residual nerve pain that can last for months or years.
Clean the affected area with soap and water and use cool compresses or calamine lotion to stop itching. Aluminum acetate solutions can help dry blisters. A physician may also prescribe antiviral medication or steroids. If you notice that some of the blisters become a deeper red, warm, firm and tender, or that red streaks are forming, seek medical attention as this might indicate a bacterial infection, cellulitis.
It’s also important to cover the affected area with gauze or clothing because people who have not had chickenpox can get chickenpox from exposure to the blisters. Once the rash has crusted over and begun to heal, the person is no longer infectious. Women who experience shingles after giving birth do not generally infect their newborn children because maternal antibodies protect the child until about 9 to 12 months of age.
A herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine is recommended for most individuals over the age of 60. It is not yet certain if the chickenpox vaccine prevents shingles.