Shingles is an acute viral disease that affects the nervous system and skin. The main pest is the herpes virus, which also causes chickenpox. By the way, people who have already had smallpox are most susceptible to shingles. You can get infected either from a child with chickenpox, or from an adult who already has shingles. Thus, to the question “Is shingles contagious?” You can definitely answer "Yes." It is worth adding that the person who previously did not have chickenpox, instead of herpes zoster, will be ill with it. The herpes virus never disappears, in the human body it can be in a dormant state for many years, but with low immunity, severe stressful situations and some other diseases, it can make itself felt. If treatment for herpes zoster is not started on time, it can pose a serious threat to human life.
Symptoms of lichen usually make themselves felt after 2-3 weeks from the moment of infection. The temperature rises, the head begins to hurt, the skin itches, there are sensations of burning and tingling sensations. Lichen affects the skin where nerves pass. In the area of the affected areas, most patients experience severe pain, with shingles they can occur even with light touch.
What is shingles? These are peculiar skin rashes, which initially are pink spots along the location of the nerves, and then turn into vesicles filled with a translucent liquid and even blood. Bubbles can be located both separately and closely adjacent to each other. Over time, these bubbles begin to fade and turn into crusts, which subsequently fall away, leaving brown spots behind.
Since this is a serious enough disease, treatment of shingles should be started as soon as possible. To begin with, you should contact a dermatologist, who will be able to establish an accurate diagnosis (by examining a patient’s blood test). It is better not to carry out independent treatment, since the course of the disease can be worsened. This also applies to the use of folk remedies, which are not always effective, and valuable time is already lost.
Treatment of shingles consists of a set of physiotherapeutic procedures and medication. All this time, it is necessary to ensure that suppuration of the bubbles does not occur (this is the most difficult stage of the disease), so the patient should limit the intake of water procedures. In order not to infect the rest of the family members and other people, the patient should be isolated during treatment. The easiest way to do this is by placing the patient in a hospital.
In the early days, treatment of shingles is aimed at eliminating intoxication. If necessary, antibiotics can be prescribed by a doctor, however, only if there is a place for a repeated bacterial complication. Many patients have a fever, in which case they are given an intravenous glucose solution (5%). To relieve severe pain, non-narcotic analgesics and tranquilizers are used for treatment. The rest of the treatment consists of the use of those drugs that are used to treat chickenpox. To improve the skin condition of the affected areas, use special ointments, which include antibiotics.
If the patient adheres to those recommendations that were prescribed by the doctor, then shingles can be defeated very quickly. True, this does not exclude the likelihood that the disease after a while will make itself felt again. It is important to monitor your health, and if strange symptoms appear, consult a doctor immediately.