Herpes Zoster (shingles)
Introduction:
The diseases are increasing nowadays and knowing about them can
prevent or minimize the occurrence of the diseases. The disease called herpes
zoster (shingles) is a viral infection that appears because of a virus called
varicella-zoster can cause an outbreak of painful rashes on the skin and the
same virus causes chickenpox. The disease can be painful and there are many
risk factors to get the disease.
The risk factors:
Many risk factors can cause the disease that is:
1-
If the person has weak
immunity like cancer disease, HIV, organ transplant, and who is getting chemotherapy.
2-
The person who is aged 50
and over
3-
The person who experienced
trauma or stress in his life.
Mode of
transmission:
The disease can spread from person to person like chickenpox
by direct contact with skin to skin or fluid from affected site blisters. So,
the person must be isolated and take precautions when dealing with him.
The signs
and symptoms:
This disease has signs and symptoms that affect the person
and cause severe pain on the skin. The finding consisted of painful herpetiform
vesicles on erythematous for 2 to 3 days associated with fever, headache,
feeling tired, sensitivity to light, stomach pain, itching and burning on the
skin, and rashes and fluid-filled blisters with pain. These signs and symptoms
can be divided into phases from occurrence of the disease that include:
1-
The pre-eruptive phase lasts
from 1 to 10 days the person feels pain in the skin with the development of skin
dermatomes associated with itching, headache, cardiac pain, abdominal upset,
and fever.
2-
In the acute-eruptive phase
the person can have erythema, lymphadenopathy, vesicular involution, and
rupture crust, after that, resolution of erythematous plaques and scarring can occur,
and the symptoms resolved over 10- 15 days.
Diagnoses
of Herpes Zoster (shingles):
The disease has been diagnosed first with history and
physical assessment findings. Second, the doctor may require lab tests for VZV
that include direct fluorescent antibody and polymerase chain reaction testing
for vesicular fluid, corneal lesions, and blood.
Treatments of Herpes Zoster (shingles):
Herpes Zoster disease has no cure but the treatment is to
manage the symptoms. The first line of treatment started with antiviral
medications. The antiviral medications cause the disease to stop and the pain
will be reduced. The medications can be (Acyclovir, Famciclovir, Valacyclovir).
Second, antibacterial medications can be prescribed if developed rashes with
anti-inflammatory drugs. Moreover, lotions like calamine can be used on the
affected sites. The patients with the disease may not need to be hospitalized
but precautions must be taken like:
1-
The patient must be
isolated with the door must be closed.
2-
When entering to the
patient room must protect yourself by using personal protective equipment that
may you to get the disease if contact.
3-
The patient's
self-equipment must be used only for him and not shared with others.
The patient may need admission to the hospital if he is
having:
1-
The symptoms are severe and
can’t tolerate the pain
2-
The patient is using
immunosuppression or has a disease-causing his immune suppression.
3-
If the patients have more
than one affected site with facial involvements.
4-
If the eyes have been
involved and affected the vision.
Prevention
of Herpes Zoster (shingles):
Most of the people who get the disease are elderly so to
prevent the disease vaccination can be taken, prevent going to the patients who
are affected, and take varicella-zoster immune globulin, especially
immunosuppression patients. Stress is
one of the risk factors so the person must prevent or reduce the stress through
relaxation techniques also eating a healthy diet with exercise can prevent the
occurrence of the disease by boosting the immunity with minerals and vitamins
needed.
References:
Cleveland
Clinic (2019). Shingles (Herpes Zoster) | Cleveland Clinic. [online]
Cleveland Clinic. Available at:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11036-shingles.
Herpes
Zoster: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology. (2023). eMedicine.
[online] Available at:
https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1132465-overview?form=fpf.