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Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus. The primary infection causes chicken pox, which many of us had as children. (You may remember this as a rash with a fever that kept you out of school for a few days). After the chicken pox are over, the virus remains dormant in the body, where it can remain inactive for decades.
When it reactivates, it causes a rash that is often preceded by a few days of pain, tingling or burning. This can happen randomly, or it can be the result of a stressor like illness or immune suppression.
The rash begins with red patches followed by small blisters. Sometimes these blisters are described as looking like “dewdrops on rose petals.” Eventually the blisters crust over and fall off in two or three weeks.
If shingles affects the face, there is a 10 to 25 percent chance it can involve the eye (especially if the tip of your nose involved). If not properly treated, it can cause vision loss.
Herpetic eye disease can manifest itself in many ways: pink eye, corneal ulcers, or inflammation in the front of the eye, retina or optic nerve. Sometimes the eye pressure can also become elevated.
If you have herpes zoster in your face, I recommend that you get examined by an ophthalmologist to see if the eye is involved.
The treatment will likely involve antiviral medications like Valtrex (valaciclovir). In most cases, you can take this medicine by mouth, but sometimes treatment has to be intravenous acyclovir. These medications reduce pain and shorten the time course of the disease.
Avoid giving it to others
Shingles is contagious, so don’t expose young infants, pregnant mothers or people who are immunocompromised to the open sores or materials that come in contact with the rash.
What about the vaccine?
A vaccine is available to prevent herpes zoster. The vaccine has been shown to be effective in either preventing shingles from occurring or lessening the symptoms should it develop.
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