When he was little, around seven or so, I took my son to a few homes of friends who had chickenpox so that he would get them, too, instead of later at the inconvenient time of middle or high school.
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But to no avail as he remained chickenpox-free despite the advice from the pediatrician to go visit homes where chickenpox was present. But it turns out, chickenpox-free was a good thing!
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Shingles = varicella zoster = herpes zoster virus starts with chickenpox. The thing is that if you had chickenpox, the virus can become active again years later and make an appearance as shingles. Many people with post-herpetic neuralgia make a full recovery within a year.
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Shingles troubles about one in three adults who have had chickenpox and usually appears as a painful rash that occurs on one side of the face or body. When it scabs over, you are not contagious any longer, and it clears with 2 to 4 weeks.
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So adults ages 50 and older should stay current on shingles vaccines once a year or 19 and older with compromised immune disorders.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, “The rash most commonly occurs in a single stripe around the left or the right side of the body. The rash can also occur on one side of the face.
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Shingles on the face can affect the eye and cause vision loss. The rash can be more widespread on the body and look similar to a chickenpox rash.”
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Researchers also found that people who have had shingles are at an elevated risk of stroke. The reason is this: the answer lies within lipid vesicles called exosomes that carry proteins and genetic information between cells, according to new findings from the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus.
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The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, headed by Andrew Bubak, assistant research professor, says the relationship between stroke and shingles, is strong.
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“People may know about the painful rash associated with shingles, but they may not know that the risk of stroke is elevated for a year after infection.
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“Importantly, the rash is often completely healed and individuals feel normal but nonetheless are walking around with this significant elevation in stroke risk.”
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The risk is greatest in people with the rashes on their faces, perhaps because it’s closer to the brain, the researchers say.
“Exosomes carry pathogenic cargo [including blood clots] that can cause thrombosis and inflammation distant from site of actual infection that could ultimately lead to a stroke in patients.”
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Bubak added that most physicians are clueless of the connection between stroke and shingles.
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The infection is contagious to individuals who have no prior immunity to herpes zoster, however, the rates of transmission are low. The virus is infectious either by direct skin contact or by inhaling infected droplets. Shingles may lead to infection in the fetus and complications in the newborn.
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Herpes zoster characteristically is present usually with fever, malaise, and extraordinary burning pain followed by the outbreak of blisters, also known as vesicles, that appear in one to three “crops” over three to five days.
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Those blisters mostly involved are thoracic (53% at the spine regions), cervical (20% at the neck), and trigeminal (15% at the head).
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In the case of trigeminal, complications such as tooth loss, periodontitis, pulp calcification, pulp necrosis, and tooth developmental abnormalities can occur. The initial pain before the rash may be confused with a toothache which leads to unnecessary dental treatment. When there is eye involvement, patients must see an ophthalmologist.
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Tests for shingles are available but not when the virus is dormant, meaning you have to have shingles to be tested. The condition has no cure but can be prevented in most patients by vaccination.
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I always say, “It’s tough being a person, but it surely beats the alternative.”
