Herpes

Shingles

Shingles (herpes zoster) is a painful, blistering skin rash due to the varicella-zoster virus, the virus that causes chickenpox.

Causes

After you get chickenpox, the virus remains inactive (becomes dormant) in certain nerves in the body. Shingles occurs after the virus becomes active again in these nerves years later.

Shingles may develop in any age group, but you are more likely to develop the condition if:

• You are older than 60
• You had chickenpox before age 1
• Your immune system is weakened by medications or disease

If an adult or child has direct contact with the shingles rash on someone and has not had chickenpox as a child or a chickenpox vaccine, they can develop chickenpox, rather than shingles.

Symptoms

The first symptom is usually one-sided pain, tingling, or burning. The pain and burning may be severe and is usually present before any rash appears.

Red patches on the skin, followed by small blisters, form in most people.

• The blisters break, forming small ulcers that begin to dry and form crusts. The crusts fall off in 2 to 3 weeks. Scarring is rare.
• The rash usually involves a narrow area from the spine around to the front of the belly area or chest.
• The rash may involve face, eyes, mouth, and ears.

Additional symptoms may include:

• Abdominal pain
• Chills
• Difficulty moving some of the muscles in the face
• Drooping eyelid (ptosis)
• Fever and chills
• General ill-feeling
• Genital lesions
• Headache
• Hearing loss
• Joint pain
• Loss of eye motion
• Swollen glands (lymph nodes)
• Taste problems
• Vision problems

Tests are rarely needed, but may include taking a skin sample to see if the skin is infected with the virus that causes shingles.

Blood tests may show an increase in white blood cells and antibodies to the chickenpox virus but cannot confirm that the rash is due to shingles.

Possible Complications

Sometimes, the pain in the area where the shingles occurred may last for months or years. This pain is called postherpetic neuralgia. It occurs when the nerves have been damaged after an outbreak of shingles. Pain ranges from mild to very severe pain. It is more likely to occur in people over 60 years.

Other complications may include:

• Another attack of shingles
• Blindness (if shingles occurs in the eye)
• Deafness
• Infection, including encephalitis or sepsis (blood infection) in persons with weakened immune systems
• Bacterial skin infections
• Ramsay Hunt syndrome if shingles affected the nerves in the face

CASE                                                                                                                                                                                    

             This was the case of herpes zoster. Miss [P.S.] she had blisters on Lt Side of face with sever burning, tingling pain. Fever

On 27/05/11prescribed following medicines [ mezereum, sarrscenia purpurea, R-68,cantharis Q +  apis mel Q + calendula Q] for two days.

She came on 30/05/11 no new eruptions appear but pain still there. Following medicines prescribed [cantharis, apis mel, variolinum one dose] for two days.

She came with improvement but pain still there. A single dose of morphinum Prescribed with above medicines for one week.

On 11/06/11 she came with slight pain, no blisters.

CURED

Dr. G. S. Bhatnagar

D.H.M.S. B.H.M.S.

Research officer

Sewa Mandir

Mobile: 9829978284

E-Mail: sewamandir@usa.net, drgsbhatnagar@gmail.com