Friday, July 27, 2007

I had shingles – are they catching?

Many people know what “shingles” is because either they have it themselves or they know someone who has had it. I want to write about it because being a hair stylist and having shingles – some people have concerns about it being contagious which is very understandable.

Here is an overview of what shingles is

Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. After someone has had chickenpox, the virus lives on in the nerves. It is never fully cleared from the body and remains dormant in the nerve tissues. The virus becomes reactivated under certain circumstances, such as emotional stress, immune deficiency – from AIDS or chemotherapy – or with cancer. It spreads along the nerve fibers to particular area of skin supplied by the involved nerve. I most cases though the cause of the reactivation is not known.

When it is reactivated it causes shingles. The skin rush is preceded by pain or itching or tingling or burning of the skin – (in my case I had pain in my back and thought I had pulled a muscle and a couple of days later the first signs of the rash appeared on my left shoulder blade) – and manifests itself in many people as a very painful skin rash with blisters that can resemble third degree burns. (My skin rash did resemble third degree burns). The blisters follow the path of individual nerves that come out of the spinal cord. Blisters may occur along the entire center path of the nerve or only in certain areas supplied by the nerve. Twenty percent of the people who had chickenpox get shingles.

So, are shingles catching?

Shingles cannot pass from one person to another. However, the virus that causes shingles can be spread from a person with active shingles to a person who has never had chickenpox through direct contact with an open blister. The person exposed would develop chickenpox, not shingles. Once the rash has developed crusts, the person is no longer contagious. A person is not infectious before blisters appear or with post-herpetic neuralgia (pain after the rush has gone).

Once a person has had chicken pox they cannot catch shingles (or contact the virus) from someone else.

The virus is not spread through sneezing, coughing or casual contact.

If you can diagnose shingles early and get antiviral drugs within 48 hours of the appearance of the rash you can reduce the duration of the rash, but the benefit of the drugs are limited.

Filed under Health