ShinglesBy Trevor Lloyd

Shingles the Disease

By Trevor Lloyd

Overview

• A viral infection that causes a painful rash and blisters

Causes

• Varicella-zoster virus

• Causes chicken pox

• Hibernates in spinal cord and nerve tissue

• May reactivate later

• Travels through nerve pathways to skin

Risk Factors• Chicken Pox

• Age

• Of infection

• Of recurrence

• Depressed Immune System

• Cancer

• Medications

• Disease

Early stages

• Small, Painful bumps

• Turn to blisters

Symptoms• Pain

• Rash

• Blisters

• Itching

• Some people experience:

• Fever and chills

• Headache

• General achiness

• Fatigue

Treatments• No cure

• Drugs:

• Acyclovir (Zovirax)

• Valacyclovir (Valtrex)

• Famciclovir (Famvir)

• Other things:

• Anticonvulsants

• Tricyclic antidepressants

• Numbing agents

• Narcotics

Prognosis• Not life threatening

• Vaccines

• Treatments

• Complications:

• Vision loss

• Postherpetic neuralgia

• Neurological problems

• Skin infections

Current Research

• Shingles linked to stroke

• Teachers with mustaches have a 98% chance of getting shingles

What you need to know

• A recurrence of the Chicken pox virus

• Risk factors are related to a depressed immune system

• Symptoms include pain and blisters

• Treatable, but no cure

• Your going to live

Sources• Shingles. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1,

2014, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shingles/basics/definition/con-20019574

• (2012, May 7). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/varicella.html

• (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270711.php