Synonym
shingles
Definition
Shingles is an infection caused by a virus that leads to itchy and painful skin changes in various parts of the body and requires appropriate medication.
Cause/Forms
Herpes zoster is a subgroup of the herpes viruses. The virus is called “Human Herpesvirus-3” (HHV-3). It is estimated that about 90% of the population carries herpes viruses in their bodies.
These rest for many years without causing a corresponding infection. However, if certain factors come together, such as stress, an outbreak of a herpes infection can occur. The herpes zoster infection, which manifests itself in the form of shingles, is the varicella zoster virus.
Patients who carry this virus or who become infected with it usually suffer from chickenpox at a younger age. Despite healing of this disease, the virus remains in the body. Mostly for a lifetime it can be present unnoticed and without symptoms. In some cases, however, it can trigger a secondary infection over time, which then manifests itself in the form of shingles. It is therefore one of the few pathogens that can trigger two completely different diseases with a time difference.
Transmission
The virus is easily transmitted by droplet infection (sneezing) and through mucous membranes and transmission usually occurs in childhood or adolescence, which regularly leads to many infections in kindergartens. As a non latently infected or immune person, it is practically unavoidable to become infected by a person living in the same household who has acute chickenpox or shingles. Once the viruses are ingested, infection does not necessarily have to occur directly. Often, the viruses can remain in the body for years without causing discomfort.
Symptoms
After the infection it takes about two weeks until a rash appears. This time is called incubation period. In the early stages of the onset of shingles, there may be moderate to severe pain in the area of the affected nerve section.
The pain is described as stabbing and very unpleasant. They are not permanent, but can increase in intensity from day to day and can lead to unbearable pain. The pain is followed by a characteristic rash consisting of reddening, flaking and elevation of the skin.
The skin irritations are usually not extensive, but rather punctiform. However, the overall view of all punctiform skin changes can eventually give the appearance of a large reddened area. As the disease progresses, filled blisters may appear in the skin area.
The skin can itch correspondingly, but can still be very painful at any stage of the disease, and this can lead to a corresponding impairment in everyday life. With chickenpox, the rash is accompanied by small oval blisters and crusts. Usually even the mucous membrane of the cheek is affected.
However, the sufferer is usually well, there is usually no real feeling of illness, but occasionally there is a fever. This phase of the rash lasts for about a week, the blisters fortunately heal without scars. The only exception are blisters that become inflamed after scratching and therefore often scar.
Chickenpox is not dangerous for otherwise healthy people. However, people with immunodeficiency (after organ transplantation, HIV patients, burn victims) are at risk of an uncontrolled spread of the infection, which is then fatal in up to 40% of cases. If a pregnant woman falls ill with varicella zoster, there is a low risk of nerve and eye damage to the unborn child. In the early stages of pregnancy, an acute infection can also lead to miscarriage.
