Shingles aka shingles, dangerous or not, huh?

What is shingles?

Herpes zoster is a contagious skin disease caused by Varicella zoster. In Indonesia, in addition to shingles, shingles is also often referred to as shingles.

However, please distinguish between this type of herpes from the disease of the same name, namely genital herpes. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a virus Herpes simplex.

Shingles can affect anyone who has had chickenpox. That means that shingles can occur in children who had previously had chickenpox as a baby, or children born to mothers who had chickenpox during pregnancy. Shingles can also occur even though the symptoms from previous cases of chickenpox were not so obvious.

Because, both types of smallpox are both caused by viruses Varicella zoster .

What causes shingles?

Everyone who has had chickenpox will indeed build up special antibodies to prevent the disease from recurring. However, after being treated and recovered from chicken pox, the virus Varicella zoster actually not really wiped out.

The virus is still living and settling in the neural network, but in a "dormant" or inactive state. If one day the virus comes back to life or is awakened by a certain trigger, then shingles or shingles can occur.

Well, the main cause of the smallpox virus attacking you again is a problem of immunity. When the immune system is weak, the virus sees it as a golden opportunity to come back to life.

Some things that have the opportunity to revive the virus that causes smallpox are:

Severe stress and depression
Aging age
Experiencing diseases that interfere with the immune system, such as cancer or HIV / AIDS
Are undergoing cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy
Take drugs, especially immunosuppressive drugs, which are usually used after an organ transplant

It is important to underline that this shingles disease may not appear if you have never had chicken pox or have been exposed to the virus. Varicella zoster previous.

Is shingles contagious?

Unlike smallpox, which is easily contagious, shingles will not be transmitted from one person to another. If you have had chickenpox but never had shingles, it is very unlikely that you will catch it from people who are experiencing it.

However, the active smallpox virus can be transmitted from someone who has shingles to someone who has never had chickenpox at all. In cases like this, the infected person does not catch shingles, but gets chickenpox.

It should be noted that the shingles virus is not spread through coughing or sneezing, but from direct contact with fluids or blisters on the skin. If the blisters or sores on the skin have not appeared or after the blisters have formed a crust, the person also cannot transmit the shingles virus.

Therefore, you should avoid direct physical contact with people who have chickenpox if you have never been exposed to it. Especially for some people whose immune system is weak, such as pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, or who are suffering from certain diseases.

What are the signs and symptoms of shingles?

Shingles is a progression of chickenpox. Then the symptoms that are caused will usually be more severe.

Shingles can actually appear on any part of the body, but usually the rash on the skin will only appear on one part of the body. This is because the virus only attacks certain parts of the nerves, so that the skin in that area shows the rash.

The characteristics or characteristics of a skin rash due to shingles usually looks like:

A cluster of reddish rash on certain parts of the body, such as the back, face, neck and ears
Swollen blisters or fluid-filled sores that break easily
The rash causes itching, pain, numbness

In some rare cases, the rash may appear more extensive and look similar to the rash from chickenpox.

Apart from the rash, several other symptoms will also appear, such as:

Fever
Chills
Headache
Severe fatigue
Muscle weakness
Joint pain
Nausea
Pain, heat, numbness, or tingling sensation
Sensitive to light
Swollen lymph nodes

Pain is usually the first symptom of shingles, but the pain can vary from person to person. Some don't really feel it, while some feel the pain is very strong and even intense. Usually, the intensity of the pain depends on the location where the pain occurs.

What complications can shingles arise from?

Herpes zoster can also cause complications that are fairly rare but quite serious, namely:

Rash and pain that involves the eye, so it requires special treatment to prevent damage to the eye candy.
Hearing loss or pain in one or both ears, and the tongue loses its ability to taste food.
A bacterial infection characterized by reddish, swollen, and warm skin to the touch.
Nerve problems depend on their location. Generally, it can lead to inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), facial paralysis, as well as hearing and balance problems.

How to treat shingles?

If you have shingles, your doctor will usually prescribe several medications that can help reduce symptoms, such as:

Antiviral drugs (acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir) to reduce pain and help speed recovery.
Anti-inflammatory medication (ibuprofen) to relieve pain and swelling of the skin.
Analgesic drugs to reduce pain in the blisters or sores on the skin.
Antihistamine drugs such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) to treat itching of the skin.
Medications in the form of topical creams or ointments, such as lidocaine, to reduce pain in skin blisters.
Capsaicin (Zostrix) to help reduce nerve pain due to post-herpetic neuralgia, which usually occurs after recovery from chickenpox.

Symptoms that arise due to the shingles virus can be helped to recover by doing several things, including:

Make sure the rash on the skin is always clean dry to prevent the risk of infection.
Use loose clothing to provide comfort while avoiding excessive friction on the skin.
Avoid using antibiotic creams or adhesive dressings as these can slow down the healing process.
If the rash needs to be covered, use a good quality adhesive bandage to prevent the skin from worsening.
Get enough sleep and rest to speed up the recovery process.
Apply a cold compress to the area of the skin with the rash to reduce pain and itching.

If you experience signs and symptoms that suggest shingles, see your doctor immediately. Antiviral medications that are started early can heal the rash more quickly.

Generally, shingles can heal and heal within a few weeks. However, if your symptoms do not improve within 10 days, you should consult your doctor again for further treatment.

How to prevent shingles?

Prevention of shingles can be done by administering vaccines. There are 2 vaccines that can help prevent this disease, namely the chickenpox vaccine (varicella) and the herpes zoster vaccine (varicella-zoster).

1. Chickenpox vaccine

The varicella vaccine (Varivax) has become a routine immunization that must be given to children to prevent chickenpox. Usually given 2 times, namely at the age of 12-15 months and repeated again at the age of 4-6 years. This vaccine can also be given to adults who have never had chickenpox before.

Although vaccines cannot fully guarantee that you will not get chickenpox at all, giving vaccines can at least reduce the chance of disease severity. On the other hand, vaccines will also help reduce the risk of complications from the disease rather than not getting the vaccine at all.

2. Herpes zoster vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends giving the shingles vaccine for those of you who are over 50 years old. Because this age group has a higher risk of experiencing shingles and its further complications.

The varicella-zoster vaccine is divided into two, namely Zostavax (live zoster vaccine) and Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine). Zostavax was approved in 2006 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or the equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) in Indonesia.

This type of vaccine has been shown to prevent and protect against shingles for about five years. This is a live vaccine that is given as an injection, usually in the upper arm. Whereas shingrix was approved by the FDA in 2017 and is an alternative of choice to Zostavax.

The shingrix vaccine is believed to provide protection against shingles for up to five years. This is a non-live vaccine made from a viral component, and is given in two doses. Shingrix is usually recommended for people over 50, including those who have previously received the Zostavax vaccine.

However, the Zostavax vaccine is generally not recommended until you are 60 years of age or older. The most common side effect of the shingles vaccine is redness, pain, swelling, and itching in the area of the skin where the injection was used.

In addition, this vaccine can sometimes cause the recipient to experience headaches as another side effect. Not much different from the chickenpox vaccine, the vaccine for shingles also does not guarantee that you will completely avoid or not get shingles at all.

However, this vaccine can at least help reduce the risk of disease severity and complications that you may experience.

In essence, these two types of vaccines to prevent chickenpox and shingles are only used as a preventive measure. Not intended to treat people who are currently experiencing chicken pox or shingles.

Is there anyone who should not receive the shingles vaccine?

Although it is of good use, it turns out that not everyone can get this shingles vaccine. Even though it is possible, it usually requires strong consideration from a doctor by adjusting the health condition of the body.

The following is a list of some groups of people who should be recommended by a doctor first before getting the shingles vaccine:

Have experienced severe allergic reactions or symptoms to gelatin, neomycin antibiotics, or other components contained in the herpes zoster vaccine.
People with very weak immune systems.
Women who are pregnant.
People who have an infectious disease.

We recommend that you further check with your doctor before administering the vaccine for you. The doctor will consider giving the vaccine according to your health condition.

Most people who have had shingles before will not develop the disease later in life. But in rare cases, it is possible that this disease can come again more than once.