However, the virus can only be transmitted from the time blisters appear to when they form a crust, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC. Keeping the rash covered will reduce the risk of transmission.
For most of that time, the virus stays in an inactive state. But it can reactivate again years later. This could cause the person to develop shingles. Read on to learn more about shingles and how to prevent the spread of the varicella-zoster virus. The varicella-zoster virus can typically spread from a person with shingles to someone who has never had chickenpox.
If a person has had chickenpox , they usually have antibodies against the virus in their body. Shingles causes open, oozing blisters. This could lead to chickenpox.
Once the blisters scab, they can no longer pass on the virus. Most people have the varicella-zoster virus in their bodies. But the National Institute on Aging says that it only reactivates in around one-third of them, so only one in three people with the virus will have shingles.
However, the chance of this happening increases as a person gets older. Around half of all cases occur after the age of 60 years, and the risk increases significantly from 70 onward. Early shingles symptoms can include:. The most noticeable symptoms are blisters and pain. The outward symptoms of shingles look a lot like a case of chickenpox.
Both diseases cause raised blisters that open, ooze fluid, and crust over. But unlike the chickenpox rash, which can occur on different parts of your body, shingles usually affects one area of your body. Shingles blisters are most prevalent on your torso, where they wrap around your waist on one side of your body. The shingles rash may also appear on one side of your face. If this happens, contact a doctor immediately. Shingles travels along a nerve path, causing pain and strange sensations.
Itching and sensitivity to touch are also symptoms of shingles. Shingles pain varies in severity. It can be difficult to treat with over-the-counter pain medications. Your doctor might prescribe antidepressants or steroids. These two types of drugs can successfully relieve nerve pain in some people. A shingles outbreak usually lasts 3 to 5 weeks. Most people experience pain and discomfort for a short period and then make a full recovery. People usually only have one episode of shingles in their lifetime.
Shingles outbreaks are temporary, but they can have some lasting effects on your health and well-being. The nerve pain of shingles can linger, lasting for weeks or even months in some cases. Generally, shingles pain is more persistent and longer-lasting in older adults. Younger people usually show no signs of the disease once the blisters have cleared up.
Around 1 in 10 people develop post-herpetic neuralgia, nerve pain that can continue for months or years after the shingles rash has gone. Sometimes the shingles rash occurs around one eye or on one side of the neck or face. Contact your doctor promptly if you suspect shingles, but especially in the following situations:. The shingles rash is associated with an inflammation of nerves beneath the skin.
Anyone who's had chickenpox may develop shingles. After you recover from chickenpox, the virus enters your nervous system and lies dormant for years. Eventually, it may reactivate and travel along nerve pathways to your skin — producing shingles. But, not everyone who's had chickenpox will develop shingles. The reason for shingles is unclear. But it may be due to lowered immunity to infections as you grow older.
Shingles is more common in older adults and in people who have weakened immune systems. Varicella-zoster is part of a group of viruses called herpes viruses, which includes the viruses that cause cold sores and genital herpes.
Because of this, shingles is also known as herpes zoster. But the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles is not the same virus responsible for cold sores or genital herpes, a sexually transmitted infection.
A person with shingles can pass the varicella-zoster virus to anyone who isn't immune to chickenpox. This usually occurs through direct contact with the open sores of the shingles rash. Once infected, the person will develop chickenpox, however, not shingles. Chickenpox can be dangerous for some people. Until your shingles blisters scab over, you are contagious and should avoid physical contact with anyone who hasn't yet had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine, especially people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and newborns.
Anyone who has ever had chickenpox can develop shingles. Most adults in the United States had chickenpox when they were children, before the advent of the routine childhood vaccination that now protects against chickenpox. Studies suggest that Shingrix offers protection against shingles for more than five years. Shingrix is a nonliving vaccine made of a virus component. It is given in two doses, with months between doses. Shingrix is approved and recommended for people age 50 and older, including those who've previously received the Zostavax vaccine or had shingles.
The most common side effects of either shingles vaccine are redness, pain, tenderness, swelling and itching at the injection site, and headaches. The shingles vaccine doesn't guarantee that you won't get shingles.
But this vaccine will likely reduce the course and severity of the disease and reduce your risk of postherpetic neuralgia. The shingles vaccine is used only as a prevention strategy. It's not intended to treat people who currently have the disease. Additionally, those who develop a rash near the eye should seek immediate medical attention, as this can be a sign of HZO.
The condition can cause scarring, vision loss, and permanent eye damage if left untreated. A doctor may prescribe antiviral drugs to stop the virus from multiplying. To relieve itching , the CDC recommends:.
Calamine lotion is available for purchase online. Learn more home remedies for itching here. Most people will recover with home treatment, but a person should seek medical help if other symptoms appear, such as a fever. Shingles results from VZV, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in the sensory ganglia of their cranial nerve or the dorsal root ganglia within the peripheral nervous system.
VZV belongs to a group of viruses called herpes viruses. All herpes viruses can hide in the nervous system, where they can remain indefinitely in a latent state. Under the right conditions, the herpes zoster virus can reactivate, similarly to waking up from hibernation, and travel down nerve fibers to cause a new active infection. What triggers this is not usually clear, but it may happen when something weakens the immune system, prompting the virus to reactivate.
It is not possible to directly transmit shingles to another person. However, a person who has never had chickenpox can contract the virus by coming into direct contact with the fluid in the blisters of a person who currently has shingles. If this happens, and the person has not received a vaccination against chickenpox, they would develop chickenpox first, not shingles.
Shingles does not spread through coughing or sneezing. Only direct contact with fluid from the blisters can spread the virus. Therefore, covering the blisters reduces the risk of contagion.
It is important to note that the virus is only active from when the blisters first appear to when they dry up and crust over. Transmission is not possible before the blisters develop or after the crusts form. If a person does not develop blisters, the virus cannot spread in the traditional sense.
Doctors usually diagnose shingles through a physical exam by evaluating the appearance of the rash and blisters on the body.
In some cases, they may collect a tissue sample from the fluid of the blisters and send it to a lab to check if the virus is present. They may also conduct a blood test to look for antibodies, which can determine whether a person has ever been exposed to the virus.
Experts recommend routine immunization with the varicella vaccine chickenpox vaccine during childhood. Preventing chickenpox will also prevent shingles. Children should receive the first dose at 12—15 months. The second dose is at 4—6 years. Since vaccination started in children, the number of shingles cases has dropped. Are vaccines safe or not? Learn more here. Also, click here to learn more about the brands of childhood chickenpox vaccines.
A different vaccine, the herpes zoster vaccine, is available for people aged 50 and older who have had chickenpox and therefore carry VZV. Experts also recommend this vaccine for those who have not had chickenpox or shingles. In the U. The herpes zoster vaccine can help prevent shingles in people who already have the virus. People who should not have the shingles vaccine without first discussing it with their doctor include those who:.
Although anyone who has had chickenpox can develop shingles, some people may be at a higher risk. Possible complications of shingles include :.
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