2. What is it?!
• Shingles is also called herpes-zoster
• It is a viral infection that lies dormant for
years in the dorsal root ganglia in sensory
nerve cell bodies which run in the nervous
system
• It is an aftermath of the chickenpox
– It forms when virus particles are left in the
blood and settle into clusters of verve cells
• It creates a rash on the outside of the skin
3. More information regarding
shingles
• Because the nervous system has a left and
right side, shingles only appears on one
side of the skin
• If a person has the chickenpox before the
age of one, he or she is more susceptible to
get shingles at a younger age.
• It most commonly occurs in older people
because their immune system is weaker
4. What activates Shingles?
• Extreme temperature
• STRESS
• Poor diet
• Radiation treatments for Cancer
• Immune suppressive drugs
• Age
5. Check out this video which shows a
visual animation of how shingles
forms
http://www.icyou.com/topics/diseases-conditions/shingles-pathophysiology+
Refer to wikispaces page to see the video
6. Is Shingles contagious?!
YES, shingles is contagious to…
- A person, usually a child, who has never gotten
the chickenpox vaccine or the chickenpox.
- They can only catch chicken pox from direct contact
with the shingles sores.
- It is cannot be caught from being in the same
room, because the virus is not normally in the
lungs and therefore cannot spread via the
surrounding air.
7. Symptoms
• Burning or tingling pain and itching of the
skin in a particle spot on either side of the
body
• Fluid-filled blisters which resemble acne
• The rash can be mild or very painful
(usually in elders)
• Lesions can last from a few weeks to a few
months depending on the person
8. Treatment
There is no formal treatment to get rid of shingles
because it is a virus that remains dormant in the nervous
system.
Long Term- ongoing for months and very
Short Term- several weeks painful (Postherpetic neuralgia)
• Antiviral drugs are prescribed • Antidepressant medications
which make the rash subside • Anesthetics, such as lidocaine,
and prevent reoccurring to numb the area
episodes. • Anticonvulsant medications
– The 3 most common being:
acyclovir, valacyclovir • Opioids, such as codeine
(prevent additional viral • Very rare cases, surgical
shedding), or famcyclovir treatment may be
(pain) implemented
• Antibiotics that are applied – Cutting the nerves to block
directly to the skin pain
9. Complications with Shingles
• Infection- the rash may become infected
• Scarring- very unlikely, but sometimes the
blisters can leave scarring
• Eye ulceration and permanent scarring-
cornea of the eye may become scarred
which causes hazy vision and
inflammation may occur
• Postherpetic neuralgia- result from nerve
fiber damage
10. Prevention Techniques
• Chickenpox Vaccine
– Immunization can protect children of 18
months to adolescence from getting
chickenpox and later shingles.
• Shingles Vaccine
– In May 2006, the FDA approved a vaccine to
prevent the shingles
– It is given to people 60 years of age and older
who have already had the chickenpox
11. Why did I pick Shingles?!
• Personal Experience
– I had shingles at the age of 15, my sophomore
year.
– I had it on the right side of my face, in my
right eye, the area surrounding my right eye,
and on my forehead
– I have permanent scarring in my right eye
because of it which results in weaker vision
12. Some of the treatment/medications
I used
• Oral Tablet
– Valtrex and its generic form, which reduced the risk of
further infection
• Eye Ointment
– For the first 2 weeks of having shingles, 2 times a day
to keep the eye lubricated
• A variety of eye drops
– Eye drops to help with eye pressure (Combigan)
– Steroidal drops to help with shingles flaring back up
and inflammation. i.e. Alrex (weaker steroid),
Lotemax (stronger steroid)
Corneal Associates had to wean me off these eye drops and there was a lot of
experimentation, since it is VERY rare for someone at such a young age to
get it and none the less in the eye. Long Term effects are not available for a
young teen on such types of eye drops