Shingles is the name given to the skin rash caused due to the virus which causes chickenpox. This virus known as Varicella Zoster virus (VZV) belongs to herpes virus family. After a person suffers from chickenpox, this virus does not get eliminated from their body, and continues to remain inside their nervous system in the dormant state.

Under some circumstances like immune deficiency, cancer or emotional stress, this virus gets reactivated and causes shingles. Most of the time, the cause behind the reactivation of the virus is not found. All people who have ever suffered from chickenpox remain at the risk of developing shingles, though it is more common with people over 60 years of age.

According to estimates, over 1 million cases of this disorder is seen in U.S. alone in any given year. The herpes virus which causes chickenpox and shingles is different from the herpes virus which causes genital herpes or oral herpes sores. Medically, the condition is known as Herpes Zoster.

Signs and symptoms of Shingles

Even when the shingles rash is not evident, you may feel the pain in the affected region. This means that few days or weeks before the rash becomes visible, you may experience sensitive skin and burning pain. Shingles usually begins with tiny blisters over red base, with appearance of new blisters over the next four or five days.

These blisters usually follow the path where individual nerves emerge from spinal cord in a ray-like pattern and appear on the skin in a band-like pattern on a particular area. Most of the time, the entire affected nerve is involved, or there could be few areas of the nerve without blister and few with blisters. Usually, a single nerve is involved.

How long does the condition last?

Few days after the appearance of blister, they pop open and start to ooze out. After this, a crust appears on the top of the affected area, after which it begins to heal. The outbreak generally lasts for about 3-4 weeks in all. Though the pain might persist for a longer time period, but the blister won’t appear again.

Is it contagious?

Shingles is an extremely contagious condition and easily spreads from one person to the other, especially to children, babies and adults who haven’t suffered from chickenpox any time in their lives. However, these people develop chicken pox instead of developing shingles. Once they suffer from chickenpox, they cannot catch shingles from other. However, they may develop shingles later on in their lives on their own.

Those people who have never experienced chickenpox in their lives are more at risk of contracting shingles, as long as the patient’s old blisters are healing and new blisters are forming. Just like chickenpox, the time period before the crusting and healing of blisters is the most contagious one. Once a crust is formed over all the blisters, the chances of spreading of virus are extremely minimal and the shingles ceases to be contagious.

Though there are certain things that can be done to reduce the duration of shingles outbreak, but most of the time, the virus has to run its course before it can disappear. Posttherpetic neuralgia can be extremely difficult to manage and may last over several months or even years. Thus, the best thing to do is treat the condition as early as possible. Timely treatment can also reduce the chances of scarring due to shingles rashes.

Conventional Medicine for treating Shingles

Doctors usually prescribe a number of different medications for controlling the infection caused due to shingles, to ease pain, and to reduce inflammation. Some of the medications commonly used for treating Shingles include:

•    Painkillers, like acetaminophen or aspirin, to relieve mild pain.

•    Antiviral drugs, like Acyclovir, can help in limiting the progression of rash, particularly if used during the early stages of blister breakout. Few others drugs, including Famvir and Valtrex are also prescribed. These medicines can be     quite helpful in countering the painful after-effects that are usually seen after shingles infection, called postherpetic neuralgia.

•    Anti-inflammatory drugs, like naproxen and ibuprofen, are used for treating the pain caused due to shingles infection.

•    Antibiotics are prescribed to control the spread of infection, particularly if the affected area get infected with bacteria.

•    Benzoin helps to protect the irritated skin and should be applied over unbroken lesions.

•    Seizure medications or tricyclic antidepressants are prescribed to treat the pain that continues to affect the patient even after the lesions have healed. Antidepressants can also help in treating depression that might occur due to the inception of shingles, as well as for treating the lingering pain.

Home Remedies for treating Shingles

Keep the area where the rash has emerged completely dry, clean, and openly exposed to air at all times. Avoid bursting or scratching the blisters. If you are unable to sleep due to the pain, try binding the region snugly with elastic sports bandage.

During the first 3 or 4 days, you can apply ice on it for 10 minutes after a gap of few hours. After this, apply wet and cool compresses immersed in aluminum acetate, which can easily be obtained over-the-counter from any medical store. It is available in the forms of powder packets, effervescent tablets, and astringent solutions.

Crush 2 aspirins and mix them with few drops of rubbing alcohol to form a paste. Apply this paste on the blister at least thrice a day to desensitize the nerve endings.

To reduce the itching on and around the blister and rashes, make a mixture of 78 percent calamine lotion, 20 percent rubbing alcohol, 1 percent menthol, and 1 percent phenol. Apply this mixture directly on the blisters continuously till the blisters scab over.

Few other remedies for countering the itching include the application of Aloe Vera gel or Vitamin E oil frequently on the affected area. Dusting the areas where clothes rub with the skin with colloidal oatmeal powder or taking a bath with the colloidal oatmeal can also help to reduce pain to a great extent.

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