Some time ago, shingles and chickenpox were considered to be diseases with no relationship between. Time has passed and scientists discovered that both diseases are causes by the same virus, the varicella-zoster virus. This virus belongs to the herpes family which causes a certain skin eruption.

You might also know varicella-zoster virus as: varicella (this is the primary infection that leads to chickenpox) and herpes zoster (this is the reactivation of the virus that leads to shingles).

Chickenpox is spread by cough, sneeze or spit. These organ materials contain the virus if one person is infected and will get into contact by air with a healthy person. The virus will enter the lungs and than pass into the blood stream. After a few days the signs of chickenpox will appear on the skin.

The virus can also go inside nerve cells that are specialized in transmitting information from the skin to the brain. If the virus shelters in these cells, there can pass a few years until it will reactivate, and cause shingles. The virus that is hidden and is inactive (latent) is also known as herpes zoster. The virus affects ganglions and nerves. The virus will mostly spread into the face and trunk nerves; it rarely goes into the spinal cord or blood stream.

Many people ask themselves why some develop shingles and why others do not even if all have suffered from chickenpox when being younger. Doctors suspect that the virus reactivates in some people because they might suffer of other diseases which weaken the immune system, like AIDS, cancer, diabetes or take drugs that suppress the immune system. Adults are most likely to develop shingles but not only them. Children are also exposed to shingles. Only those who have a good immune system response and those who have been vaccinated against these two diseases are at a safe place.

The herpes family includes six viruses which can affect humans. These viruses look quite alike, and are all reproducing within the structure of a cell. These viruses are: Herpes Simplex virus, Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barre virus (responsible for mononucleosis), Varicella-Zoster virus, Human Herpesvirus type 6 (responsible for roseola), and Human Herpesvirus type 7.

All these human viruses can shed inside the organism and stay there in a latent form for many years and reactivate when the immune system does not respond well any more.

For more information about chicken pox virus or even about symptoms of chicken pox please review this page http://www.chicken-pox-center.com/

An estimate of about a million people in America suffer from shingles disease every year. If you haven’t heard of the disease, its time you get yourself informed. You or a loved one could be at risk of suffering from shingles disease.

What causes shingles?

This disease is closely associated with chicken pox. This is because the virus varicella zoster which causes chicken pox is also the cause of shingles disease. In addition, a person can only suffer from shingles if he has had chicken pox in the past. This is because the chicken pox virus lies dormant after patient recuperation and can recur at some point in the person’s life as shingles.

Is it the same as herpes?

Another name for shingles is herpes zoster. Some other skin diseases may also carry the name herpes. Shingles disease however and some other skin diseases carrying the name herpes is not the same as genital herpes which is a sexually transmitted disease.

Who is at risk of having shingles?

Anyone who has had chicken pox may get shingles. Most of the time though children and young adults who still have strong immune systems may still be able to avoid the illness. Those who are at high risk of developing shingles disease are those with weakened immune systems. These include the elderly and those who are extremely stressed out or fatigued. Of course, people who are severely sick with cancer, AIDS, leukemia and other illnesses also have a higher risk of developing shingles disease.

What are the symptoms of shingles?

The disease is also often called St. Anthony’s Fire because of the seemingly fiery pain the comes from the nerves and runs through the muscles and tissues. Aside from the pain, one will also develop reddish blisters. Fever, chills, fatigue, headache and stomach pains also accompany shingles. Of course, the rashes or blisters may also feel a little itchy.

Are there any complications that follow shingles?

Some individuals may experience shingles more than once. In some cases, even if shingles does not recur, an individual may experience post herpetic neuralgia. This is an enduring and chronic pain usually among the elderly that may go on long after the shingles disease has been treated. In rare instances, shingles can cause some paralysis, encephalitis, pneumonia, blindness, ear problems and even death.

Can shingles spread?

People who have never had chicken pox or have not been vaccinated must steer clear from fresh, active blisters. It cannot however, be transmitted through casual, indirect contact. Once the blisters develop a crust, the virus can no longer be spread.

How do you avoid shingles?

Have yourself vaccinated against chicken pox. If you’ve already had chicken pox before, then you can delay the incidence of shingles disease by keeping your immune system strong and healthy. People with shingles should keep blisters covered to avoid transmitting the virus to others.

Neuralgia is a general term for nerve pain affecting the peripheral nerves. Neuralgia often results in head and neck pain that is spasmodic, and is an extremely painful disorder that can completely destroy a person’s quality of life. The most common cause of neuralgia is neuritis, an inflammation of the nerves that can be caused by injury. There are several types of neuralgia, namely trigeminal, postherpetic (caused by shingles) and occipital. The nerves affected by neuralgia are usually responsible for sensing touch, temperature and facial pressure. Trigeminal neuralgia, one of the most painful conditions seen in medicine, may cause a great disruption in the lifestyle of the sufferer. However, neuralgia is extremely rare, especially in those under 30. Women are most likely to succumb to neuralgia than men.
What are the symptoms of Neuralgia?
Neuralgia often affects the face, with symptoms manifesting in episodes of excruciating, electric shock like, or stabbing pain. It can also showcase as a burning and itchy type of symptom. This pain generally only lasts a few minutes and occurs on only one specific side of the face. Symptoms of Trigeminal neuralgia are extremely severe, resulting in sharp spasms on one side of the face, often affecting the forehead, eyes, scalp, lips, nose or jaws. Victims of Postherpetic neuralgia suffer from a complex form of shingles, and can be brought on by illness, stress, medications or advancing age. Occipital neuralgia often causes spasms of pain to the back or the front and sides of the head and usually occurs after a spinal injury, such as whiplash. It can also be caused by or conditions like gout or diabetes.
Neuralgia can occur at any age, but is most common in the elderly.
What causes Neuralgia?
The causes of Neuralgia can depend on the type. As stated before, spinal injury or certain diseases can cause occipital neuralgia. Chemical irritation, inflammation, recent trauma, compression of nerves by tumors, and infections may all lead to neuralgia. In many cases, however, the cause is unknown. The most frequent cause of trigeminal neuralgia is a blood vessel pressing on the nerve near the brain stem. Over time, changes in the blood vessels of the brain can result in a blood vessels rubbing against the trigeminal nerve root. The constant rubbing with each heartbeat wears away the insulating membrane of the nerve, resulting in nerve irritation.
Will Painwave X4000 Help with Neuralgia?
Yes indeed! If you suffer from neuralgia, then the Painwave X4000 is a non-invasive, drug-free alternative to traditional medicines and treatments, which can have horrible side effects that alter your lifestyle. Not so with Painwave X4000. This unit actually works in concert with the body’s own bioelectromagnetic ecosystem. Painwave X4000 has no known side effects and is extremely easy to use. Simply hold the unit over the infected area, moving gently over the surface of the skin in a small circular motion. After a short period of time Painwave X4000 can improve circulation, cell activity and lymphatic movements, all of which are beneficial in the relief of pain and other discomforts. In many cases, this stimulation will greatly reduce or eliminate the pain associated with Neuralgia for good.
Note: The contents provided in this article are not meant to replace the evaluation of a physician, If you think you may be experiencing complications due to neuralgia, contact your primary care physician immediately for diagnostic testing.

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Shingles is distinctive because it affects only one side of the body. Shingles is derived from the Latin and French words for belt or girdle, reflecting distribution of the rash in a broad band. The chickenpox virus (varicella) remains in a dormant state in the body in the root of nerves that control sensation. The majority of people with shingles, however, are healthy. No special tests need to be done to see if your immune system is strong. It occurs only in people who have had chickenpox in the past and represents a reactivation of the dormant varicella virus.

What causes shingles?

Shingles occurs when the virus that causes chickenpox starts up again in your body. After you get better from chickenpox, the virus “sleeps” (is dormant) in your nerve roots. In some people, it stays dormant forever. In others, the virus “wakes up” when disease, stress, or aging weakens the immune system. It is not clear why this happens. But after the virus becomes active again, it can only cause shingles, not chickenpox.

Symptoms

The main symptom of shingles is often extreme sensitivity or pain in a broad band on one side of the body. The pain and general symptoms subside gradually as the eruption disappears. In uncomplicated cases recovery is complete in 2-3 weeks in children and young adults, and 3 to 4 weeks in older patients. The pain may be just in one spot or it may spread out. The patient usually feels quite unwell with fever and headache. The lymph nodes draining the affected area are often enlarged and tender.

Before a rash is visible, the patient may notice several days to a week of burning pain and sensitive skin. Before the rash is visible, it may be difficult to determine the cause of the often severe pain. Shingles start as small blisters on a red base, with new blisters continuing to form for three to five days. The blisters follow the path of individual nerves that comes out of the spinal cord (called a dermatomal pattern). The entire path of the nerve may be involved or there may be areas with blisters and areas without blisters.

Treatment

Antiviral medications are also routinely prescribed in severe cases of shingles or when the eye is affected. Such treatment needs to begin within three days of getting the rash to be effective, so if you suspect you have shingles, see your doctor immediately. For reasons that are not completely understood, some PHN patients get no relief from pain medication, and what works in one case may not be effective in another.

The severity and duration of an attack of shingles can be significantly reduced by immediate treatment with antiviral drugs, which include acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famcyclovir. Antiviral drugs may also help stave off the painful aftereffects of shingles known as postherpetic neuralgia (see section entitled “What are the Complications of Shingles?). Doctors now recommend starting antiviral drugs within 72 hours of the first sign of the shingles rash. Early treatment is believed to reduce the risk of postherpetic neuralgia and may speed up the healing process.

PHN is the onset pain from Shingles. In many cases, the aftermath pain of Postherpetic Neuralgia or PHN is worse than the shingles disease. PHN affects the nerve fibers in the skin. It is the most common complication of shingles and results from damage to nerve fibers. The rash and pain from shingles usually lasts about a month. But people with PHN may have pain from that will last for months, and sometimes years, after the shingles rash has healed. This article explores the various pain relief treatments for Post-Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN).
People who continue to feel pain long after the rash and blisters heal are experiencing a pain called postherpetic neuralgia which basically is damage to their nerve fibers caused by a reactivation of the varicella zoster virus. Nerve fibers essentially send messages from the skin to the brain. Damaged Nerve fibers due to shingles are not able to send messages to the spinal cord as they normally do and it is believed that the body may perceive these “mixed messages” as pain signals.
Age and PHN are related. Older people are more susceptible to PHN. PHN usually does not develop in people under age 50. Over 40% of patients with shingles age 60 or older develop PHN. After the shingles rash has healed, 75% of people over age 70 have pain at 1 month, and 50% still have pain after 1 year.
Treatments for postherpetic neuralgia depends on the type of phn pain you experience. Generally for~post herpetic neuralgia these include:
> Antidepressants
> Drugs that inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin
> Certain anticonvulsants
> Injected steroids
> Painkillers
> Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
> Spinal cord or peripheral nerve stimulation.
> Lidocaine skin patches
There are even some alternate remedies that have been tried by those suffering from PHN such as hypnosis, acupuncture, diluted apple cider vinegar, colustrum and vitamin B5.
Two highly effective alternative medicine treatments for PHN pain are Menastil and EZ Pain Relief. Both are non-narcotic, non-addictive topical solutions that effectively penetrate the skin to reach the inflamed area to cause the nerve ends to relax and allow the blood and oxygen to flow back into the painful area to effectively cutoff the pain signal to the spinal cord and therefore to the brain. You still have the PHN condition, since these products are not cures, but you will not feel substantially less pain with the use of either of these products.
Multiple pain relief treatment regimens as notated above for postherpetic neuralgia generally brings complete pain relief. But most people still experience some pain no matter what the treatment, and a few don’t get any relief at all. Although some people will live with postherpetic neuralgia the rest of their lives, most people can expect the condition to gradually disappear during the first three months. For about 10 percent to 20 percent of people with postherpetic neuralgia, the pain may persist for a year or more.
The key to solving PHN pain is to experiment with a number of regimens to find which treatments work for you. Whatever you decide, choose products that are nonaddictive and nonhabit forming such as the products on The Centre for Pain Relief website.

Genital herpes is an STD caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), which is in the same family of viruses responsible for chickenpox, shingles and mononucleosis (commonly called “mono” or “the kissing disease”). HSV can occur in two forms: HSV-1, which infects 80 percent of the U.S. population, usually appears on the lips in cold sores; HSV-2 is usually found in the genital area. However, if a person with HSV-1 (cold sores) performs oral sex, their partner may contract HSV-1 in the genitals. Likewise, participating in oral sex can spread genital herpes to the mouth in some rare cases.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) more than 1 out of 5 teens and adults are infected with genital herpes. It’s more commonly found in African Americans than in Caucasian Americans, and more common in women than in men.
Genital herpes occurrences are different for each infected person. Outbreaks can be experienced for years. Some people have frequent outbreaks each year, while others experience only a few. Some factors that have been attributed to causing outbreaks are:
* Stress
* Menstruation
* Immune system suppression, caused by medications like steroids or chemotherapy, or infections like HIV
* Sickness
* Surgical procedure or organ transplant
* Friction, often caused by vigorous sexual intercourse or exercise
* Tiredness
Genital herpes outbreaks (http://herpes-virus.org/treatments.htm)often appear in the same area each time. Symptoms, however, may not always appear in exactly the same place. It is not uncommon for a lesion to appear on the genitals in one recurrence and near the anus in another instance. In some instances, the outbreak can be active and transmittable even without the presence of lesions.
It is common for people who contract genital herpes to experience mild to no symptoms at all. Therefore, they are unaware of infection. If symptoms do occur, the initial outbreak arises in the appearance of extremely painful skin lesions.
In women sores may emerge in and around the vaginal area and within the cervix. In men, sores may appear on the penis and scrotum. If the area under the foreskin is affected, scabs may not develop, the sore will heal slowly without scarring. Both males and females may also get lesions in other areas of the body including, but not limited to: the urinary tract, around the anal opening, buttocks or thighs. Once blisters have ruptured, small sores appear. And if these sores are irritated by water or urine, they may be painful. Ultimately, these sores form a crusty overlay and scab over.
About 80% of people with genital herpes are undiagnosed which means that the virus is passed on to other partners. Infrequent diagnosis and ignorance about the virus make herpes the most common STD in the world.
However, when diagnosed properly, people who have genital herpes can become proactive about their health and take advantage of treatments that may reduce frequency and duration of outbreaks. Treatment (http://herpes-virus.org/treatments.htm)can also reduce the risk of transmitting genital herpes to sexual partners.

Dermisil for Shingles is a breakthrough medical treatment proven to reduce and eliminate shingles outbreaks, naturally and effectively, without harmful side effects found in many shingles treating drugs.

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Generally, shingles heal well and problems are few. However, on occasion, the blisters can become infected with bacteria, causing cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the skin. If this occurs, the area will become reddened, warm, firm, and tender. You might notice red streaks forming around the wound. If you notice any of these symptoms, contact your health-care professional. Antibiotics can be used to treat these complications.

Shingles isn’t infectious in the same way as chickenpox, where the virus can be passed on to other people by coughs and sneezes. However, the virus can be passed on by direct contact with fluid from shingles blisters, until they dry up and crust over. This can cause chickenpox in people who aren’t already immune to it. People with shingles should avoid contact with people who have a lowered immunity, babies or pregnant women (see Who is most likely to get shingles?). If the rash is covered, the virus is less likely to be spread.

Shingles symptoms generally disappear within three to five weeks. However, treatment is recommended to help encourage shingles pain relief. Your health care provider can offer you oral antiviral medications, including acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir, in order to speed up the course of the shingles disease. You may also be prescribed pain relieving medications, such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

Shingles symptoms happen in stages. At first you may have a headache or be sensitive to light. You may also feel like you have the flu but not have a fever. Later, you may feel itching, tingling, or pain in a certain area. Thatâ??s where a band, strip, or small area of rash may occur a few days later. The rash turns into clusters of blisters. The blisters fill with fluid and then crust over. It takes 2 to 4 weeks for the blisters to heal, and they may leave scars. Some people only get a mild rash, and some do not get a rash at all.

Doctors can distinguish shingles from chickenpox (or dermatitis or poison ivy) by the way the spots are distributed. Since shingles occurs in an area of the skin that is supplied by sensory fibers of a single nerve–called a dermatome–the rash usually appears in a well-defined band on one side of the body, typically the torso; or on one side of the face, around the nose and eyes. (Shingles’ peculiar name derives from the Latin cingulum, which means girdle or belt.) If a diagnosis is in doubt, lab tests can confirm the presence of the virus.

The severity and duration of an attack of shingles can be significantly reduced by immediate treatment with antiviral drugs, which include acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famcyclovir. Antiviral drugs may also help stave off the painful aftereffects of shingles known as postherpetic neuralgia (see section entitled “What are the Complications of Shingles?). Doctors now recommend starting antiviral drugs within 72 hours of the first sign of the shingles rash. Early treatment is believed to reduce the risk of postherpetic neuralgia and may speed up the healing process.

Shingles is distinctive because it affects only one side of the body. Shingles is derived from the Latin and French words for belt or girdle, reflecting distribution of the rash in a broad band. The chickenpox virus (varicella) remains in a dormant state in the body in the root of nerves that control sensation. The majority of people with shingles, however, are healthy. No special tests need to be done to see if your immune system is strong. It occurs only in people who have had chickenpox in the past and represents a reactivation of the dormant varicella virus.

What causes shingles?

Shingles occurs when the virus that causes chickenpox starts up again in your body. After you get better from chickenpox, the virus “sleeps” (is dormant) in your nerve roots. In some people, it stays dormant forever. In others, the virus “wakes up” when disease, stress, or aging weakens the immune system. It is not clear why this happens. But after the virus becomes active again, it can only cause shingles, not chickenpox.

Symptoms

The main symptom of shingles is often extreme sensitivity or pain in a broad band on one side of the body. The pain and general symptoms subside gradually as the eruption disappears. In uncomplicated cases recovery is complete in 2-3 weeks in children and young adults, and 3 to 4 weeks in older patients. The pain may be just in one spot or it may spread out. The patient usually feels quite unwell with fever and headache. The lymph nodes draining the affected area are often enlarged and tender.

Before a rash is visible, the patient may notice several days to a week of burning pain and sensitive skin. Before the rash is visible, it may be difficult to determine the cause of the often severe pain. Shingles start as small blisters on a red base, with new blisters continuing to form for three to five days. The blisters follow the path of individual nerves that comes out of the spinal cord (called a dermatomal pattern). The entire path of the nerve may be involved or there may be areas with blisters and areas without blisters.

Treatment

Antiviral medications are also routinely prescribed in severe cases of shingles or when the eye is affected. Such treatment needs to begin within three days of getting the rash to be effective, so if you suspect you have shingles, see your doctor immediately. For reasons that are not completely understood, some PHN patients get no relief from pain medication, and what works in one case may not be effective in another.

The severity and duration of an attack of shingles can be significantly reduced by immediate treatment with antiviral drugs, which include acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famcyclovir. Antiviral drugs may also help stave off the painful aftereffects of shingles known as postherpetic neuralgia (see section entitled “What are the Complications of Shingles?). Doctors now recommend starting antiviral drugs within 72 hours of the first sign of the shingles rash. Early treatment is believed to reduce the risk of postherpetic neuralgia and may speed up the healing process.