Herpes Zoster
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Shingles (also
called Herpes Zoster) is an angry red rash on the skin caused by a virus
called Varicella Zoster, which also causes Chickenpox. Shingles gets its name
from the Latin word Cingulum, which means a girdle or a belt. The rash usually
appears on the body in the form of a well-defined band. Another characteristic
of the disease is that the rash always appears on only one side of the body:
either the left side or the right side. Big fluid filled blisters can be seen
on a red skin, most commonly in the stomach and abdominal area or on the face:
near the eyes and nose.
Shingles is a very painful disease since the virus affects the nerve cells in
the body. The only way to get Shingles is if you have previously had Chicken
Pox. Research has shown that herpes virus (which cause common cold, sores and
even genital herpes) never really leaves the body. Although you do not get
another chicken pox infection again in your life, the same virus that gave you
chicken pox can give you an attack of shingles. Even after you have fully
recovered from a chicken pox infection, the virus does not get flushed out of
the system completely. A few virus cells move into the nerve cells along the
spinal cord where it lies dormant for many years. For some reason the virus
flares up again and starts multiplying in the body's nerve cells. It then
travels along the path of the nerve and affects the skin surface causing a
very painful and itchy rash. |
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