Shingles Symptoms
Shingles is a rash that occurs on the skin, just like the chickenpox. In fact, both the chickenpox and the shingles are caused by the same virus. This shingles rash can cause a lot of pain and itchiness in just a small area of skin, such as a small spot on your back. A viral infection, caused by the virus varicella zoster, shingles will affect around a quarter of all people, which is a very high rate. It generally occurs at some point in a persons life after they have had the chickenpox, as the virus remains in the body. However, it is much more common for adults to get shingles rather than young children.
The varicella zoster virus actually stays present in everyone’s body. However, it only causes shingles in about a quarter of people. This is why chickenpox can only happen to you once; the next time the virus will attack as shingles. It generally occurs in adults due to them having much weaker immune systems than children, due to factors such as stress and age. As the varicella zoster virus is present in everyone, shingles isn’t contagious; everyone already has the virus, it just isn’t attacking.
The most common and dominant symptom that you are coming down with shingles is that you will have an itching or painful small area of skin of your body. These painful spots may well turn into a rash of shingles very soon after. Eventually this rash may begin to blister, taking a few weeks before they go and you are feeling better. Other earlier symptoms may be a weakening or woozy feeling in the body, such as what is felt when you have a fever.
Most people who suffer the shingles virus will generally only have to endure this once. However, in some extreme cases it may be endured multiple times. There are some treatments for the pain caused in the shingles attack. However, as of yet, there are no real, proven or reliable cures.