What is chickenpox, most people know from childhood. Some suffered the disease themselves, while others were acquaintances and friends "in a green speck." And having matured, many believe in the myth that if they were ill in childhood, this ailment will no longer bother them. But, unfortunately, this is only a myth. The chickenpox virus remains in the human body and can manifest itself in the form of shingles even after many decades. The clinical picture of the disease is characterized by damage to the skin and nervous system. Therefore, everyone should know about shingles is infectious or not, what are the symptoms of the disease and how to treat it.
Causes of the manifestation of the disease
As mentioned above, the provocateur of the disease is the chickenpox virus, which remained in the ganglia of the spinal nerves and spinal nerve nodes after previous chickenpox. Reactivation of herpesvirus, as a rule, occurs when the immune system is disturbed after infections, physical trauma, hypothermia and stress.
Quite often, cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy also show shingles. The reasons for the occurrence in such cases are quite logical, because such treatment greatly depresses the immune system.
Primary symptoms
This disease manifests itself more often in adults and elderly people than in children. The primary symptoms can be atypical and characterized by severe itching, burning, tingling, as well as fever, chills, headache and even dyspepsia.
All of the above signs of the disease can occur both in complex and individually. In addition, the intensity of the symptoms can also be different and last from one to three days. It is worth noting that shingles in the elderly, or rather, the first symptomatology, can manifest itself much brighter than in patients of other age categories.
At this stage of the course, the disease is not transmitted during household contact.
The main symptoms of the disease
Against the background of the primary symptoms for 2-5 days, pink fuzzy spots appear on the skin. This defeat is accompanied by severe pain and discomfort. Moreover, at night, pain and itching can significantly increase.
After a while, bubbles appear in the place of the rash, filled with a muddy purulent fluid. Answering the question of whether the herpes zoster is infectious or not at this stage, one can answer “yes” without hesitation.
Active phase of the disease
Over time, the blisters begin to burst, and their contents are aborted outward. It is during this period that the disease is the most contagious. After a couple of days, the skin at the rash site dries up and forms a crust, which itself exfoliates after 5-7 days.
If you do not carry out complex treatment, the rash may reappear in the same places, and sometimes in other parts of the skin.
Specificity of infection
Like chickenpox, herpes zoster is transmitted by contact and airborne droplets. Getting on the mucous membranes of a healthy person, the virus penetrates deep into the nerve fibers through the blood. And if a person has not previously had chickenpox, then an ailment will appear precisely in the form of shingles.
As for people in whose body the causative agent of the disease is napping, the probability of infection from the patient is low. After all, the immune system of such people independently cope with the suppression of their own virus. Exceptions can be attributed only to those cases of infection when a person who has only experienced a viral disease, physical trauma or is in a state of stress is in contact with the patient.
The incubation period of the disease
As already mentioned above, herpes virus can for many years be in a sleeping state in the human body. And only with a strong malfunction in the immune system - to activate. Therefore, it is impossible to say unequivocally whether shingles has an incubation period . Indeed, in some it may drag on for decades, in others the first signs may appear 10-25 days after contact with a sick person.
An interesting fact is that this pathogen in healthy people who have not previously encountered it causes chickenpox.
Risk group
Since shingles is a viral disease, it affects precisely those people whose immune system cannot cope with it. And the first to fall into this risk group are children of primary preschool and school age. After all, they are most often susceptible to various viral attacks.
The second place in the risk group rightfully belongs to people over 45 years old. Natural age-related changes in the body adversely affect the state of the immune system, and if one or more chronic diseases join them, there is nothing to talk about. It is also worth considering that chickenpox at this age is very dangerous. The clinical picture of the disease is characterized by a critically high fever, severe itching and pain. Therefore, if one of the family members is diagnosed with chickenpox or shingles, the virus is contagious or not for other households, it’s hard to say for sure. It all depends on whether their immune system can independently cope with the pathogen.
Shingles in cancer patients
To say that with cancer, the only treatment is radiation and chemotherapy, probably not worth it. But not everyone knows that such an effect on the body almost completely inhibits the human immune system and makes his body defenseless against various viruses. Therefore, the question of whether herpes zoster is contagious or not for these people can be considered a rhetorical one.
HIV and herpes zoster
Quite often, an ailment occurs in patients with lymphogranulomatosis, leukemia, as well as long-term receiving immunosuppressants and corticosteroids. But, according to medical statistics, the leaders in the risk group for this disease are people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Against the background of this ailment, the Zoster virus is activated in 25% of cases and is much more complicated than in other categories of patients.
In addition, when diagnosing HIV, patients are advised to familiarize themselves with information on what shingles are, how you can get infected and how to avoid infection if you have not had chickenpox before. This knowledge in the future can significantly facilitate a person’s life. Indeed, against the background of the acquired immunodeficiency virus, the ailment not only proceeds with complications, but can also recur.
Consequences and forecast
Like any other disease, shingles should be treated when the first symptom is manifested. Indeed, in severe illness and extensive areas of damage, the consequences can be very complex. These include paralysis of varying severity, both the facial nerve and the motor nerves. Violations of the internal vital organs are also possible: pneumonia of both lungs, inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary system. If the disease affects the eyes, the consequences can be a significant decrease in visual acuity and optic neuritis.
Any form of this disease can provoke a malfunction of one or more body systems. However, the leader on this list is encephalitic herpes zoster. “Is it possible to get this disease by contact or by airborne droplets?” - a question that worries many.
Therefore, it is worth saying that the virus can infect any person, provided that his immune system does not fully perform its function. If, against the background of this form of the disease, a bacterial infection has also joined, the condition of the patient can be aggravated by purulent processes. The period of treatment and recovery in such cases takes from a couple of months to a year.
As for the prognosis, it is favorable for mild and moderate forms. In addition, after a complete cure relapse usually does not happen. But in severe cases of the disease, the body may not fully restore its functions.