Past studies have highlighted that people who have had chickenpox during their childhood, have been infected with the varicella-zoster virus and it is going to live in their bodies forever. It may sound unbelievable but this is true. If the same virus gets reactive later in life, it causes shingles which can be extremely painful and even life threatening if not treated properly. In this context, it is important to note that most doctors refer to shingles as herpes zoster (HIV), as this particular virus is one of the harpes variations which can severely affect the human body. The virus typically lives and further grows in your nerve cells and when it gets reactivated, it causes a serious skin rash which worsens over time. Past research has highlighted that around 30% of the adult population of the United States are going to have shingles at some point in their lives.
Although there are certain kinds of medications to treat shingles, one of the biggest characteristics of shingles is that it can cause debilitating pain which may persist months or even years after the skin rash has been cured. If you suffer from such a skin rash, your doctor is more likely to prescribe an antiviral medication in order to ease out the symptoms and to lower the possibilities of developing persistent postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).
Although shingles can have a wide variety of symptoms depending upon individual immune systems of the human body, one most common symptom includes consistent itching or persistent sensation on one side of the body or face. In case an individual has a relatively weaker immune system, the rash can spread across the midline and further mimic chickenpox. Some of the most common symptoms of shingles include, severe headache, high fever along with consistent chills, malaise, itching and tingling sensation on the infected areas of the body, burning pain and so on.
With the help of an antiviral infection, the severity of the outbreak can be controlled to a great extent. The sooner people suffering from shingles start taking the prescribed medications, the shorter and milder their condition will be. Hence it is absolutely necessary to seek help from your doctor if you suspect suffering from shingles. Although there are a wide range of antiviral medications that your doctor can ask you to take, three most popular ones include, zovirax, valtrex and famvir. Apart from this, your doctor may recommend a certain topical adjunctive corticosteroid which can help in managing the inflammation caused by shingles. In case you are suffering from persistent, shooting pain, your doctor may recommend a tricyclic antidepressant to manage the postherpetic neuralgia symptoms. Lastly, your doctor may also recommend certain topical Creams for Shingles or lotions or ointments to deal with the skin rash. Such creams like Delivre Soothing Skin Lotion typically contain some form of analgesic to deal with the pain.
Amelia Shepherd is author of this article and writes since long time. For further details about Delivre Soothing Skin Lotion please visit the website.