Shingles and Chickenpox are Skin Infections

Chickenpox is a common childhood skin infection. Adults usually contract the skin infection, shingles, but children can occasionally get it. too. Shingles is a painful rash often seen on the chest or back. The virus “varicella zoster” causes both skin infections. The medical term for chickenpox is varicella zoster and the medical term used for shingles is herpes zoster.

Once the chickenpox virus has run its course, it lies dormant in the spinal cord, where, if activated again when the individual is an adult, it can cause shingles.

You can only get chickenpox once, as afterwards your immunity protects you from being reinfected with chickenpox even when exposed to it. After chicken pox, the dormant varicella virus does not normally cause any health concerns. It becomes reactivated, if the immune system becomes weak. The reactivated virus becomes shingles, which is a more serious infection than chickenpox.

Individuals who have weakened immune systems and also are HIV positive, or have a high level of stress, or use alcohol excessively, or have been on steroids for extended periods of time, or have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatments or have used immunosuppressant medications such as those individuals who have received organ transplants are at higher risk for reactivation.

Symptoms of Shingles:

Over-sensitivity or a burning sensation on the skin.

A rash develops a few days after the burning or over-sensitive sensation.

The rash will look like small red spots and reddened skin at first and then turns into small blisters. The blisters will dry up after a few days. There will then be scabs, where the blisters were, which eventually fall off. A small pock-mark may be left where the blister was.

Shingles is a very painful skin infection. The pain may continue even after the rash has cleared up. The pain may linger for weeks, months or years. This lingering pain is called, “post-herpetic neuralgia.”

Complication from Shingles (any of which should be consulted with a doctor).

• Individuals who have shingles near the eye should see a ophthalmologist, because there is the possibility of scarring on the surface of the eye, which can cause damage to vision.
• Shingles can also cause earaches, dizziness and deafness (temporary or permanent).
• Paralysis of the face is a possibility (Ramsay Hunt syndrome).

If a pregnant woman contracts shingles or chickenpox they can cause some serious complications such as developing pneumonia. The unborn child, in rare cases, can be exposed to the varicella zoster virus, which may cause damage to the developing fetus or even cause the woman to miscarry the baby.

A rare complication with shingles is Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). Symptoms of encephalitis are a high fever and confusion.

If any of the following symptoms occur during these viral skin infections, a doctor should be consulted immediately:

• A high fever
• Confusion
• Eye involvement
• Exhaustion that is extreme
• Loss of memory
• Severe headache

Individuals with weakened immune systems and those who are pregnant should see a doctor immediately, if they suspect that they may have chickenpox or shingles.

Shingles

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Chickenpox

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