What is shingles?

Posted on Sep 06 in Featured, Featured Article, Latest News, Skin Conditions, Skincareby QV SkincarePrint

I’ve heard people refer to having shingles, but thankfully never had them myself (although am probably at risk as I did have chickenpox as a child!). Learn more about Shingles below. Have you had them?

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SHINGLES affects a staggering 1 in 5 people, but do you know what it is?

It’s red, itchy and can be incredibly painful – and if you’re one of the 97 per cent of Australians who had chickenpox as a child, consider yourself at risk.

Herpes zoster, better known as shingles, will affect one in five Australians during their lifetime, with more than 220,000 adults aged over 50 diagnosed every year.

It is also one of the most commonly searched health terms on Google, so while it may be painfully prevalent, what’s clear is that we don’t know what it is, what it looks like or how to get rid of it.

Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus – the same strain that causes chickenpox. Both viruses fall within the herpes family, which also includes types of dermatitis.

“Shingles occurs because of a reactivation of the chickenpox virus, which remains in the nerve cells of the body,”

Dr Ronald McCoy, from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, says.

When the virus is reactivated as shingles, symptoms begin with pain, itching or tingling of the skin and may develop into a painful rash that blisters, he says.

But you’ll be happy to know you can’t “catch” shingles from someone else. The virus is not contagious and, while it can be debilitating, it’s also treatable and a vaccine, called Zostavax, will soon be readily available
in Australia.

Who is most at risk?
While anyone can contract shingles, the virus is much more common in older people, with 50 per cent of Australians aged over 80 experiencing an episode and more than 4000 sufferers hospitalised every year.

The virus also commonly affects people with low immune systems, including patients undergoing chemotherapy and pregnant women.

Dr McCoy says Australia’s ageing population is primarily responsible for the increasing prevalence of shingles in our community.

“Shingles is more common in older people and we would expect the amount of shingles cases to rise as the population grows older,” he says.

Associate Professor Kristine Macartney, deputy director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, says: “Pretty much everyone is potentially affected by shingles [after] moving into old age.”

Vaccine imminent
Zostavax is due to be made available in Australia shortly. “The vaccine can actually halve the rate of shingles and decrease the rate of side effects,” Dr McCoy says.

Associate Professor Macartney says there have been difficulties with the production of the vaccine.

“Zostavax is registered for use and was available briefly in Australia in about 2008, but unfortunately,
for a number of years now it has been in short supply globally because of production difficulties in the United States.

“Unfortunately, that means very few people in Australia have been vaccinated, even though the vaccine has been recommended to be included free for people aged over 60 in Australia.”

Associate Professor Macartney says it is thought the vaccine will soon become available in Australia again. “Once it is, hopefully there will be a decision made about whether people can get it for free under the National Immunisation Program, and that would be a step towards being able to prevent the virus.”

Painful symptoms
Associate Professor Macartney says it is very important to see a GP as soon as a blistering rash is detected, because an anti-viral medication that shortens the duration of symptoms and reduces complications has to be used in the first three days of a shingles attack to be most effective.

She says shingles is sometimes mistaken for other conditions, including dermatitis or a bacterial skin infection, but advises visiting a doctor straight away if your rash is painful, confined to a small section and appears on one side of your body only. For example, if the shingles is on your right elbow, it will not appear on your left.

After the rash appears, the blisters will fill with a liquid and burst before the skin crusts over and heals. While there are no treatments proven to soothe the rash, Associate Professor Macartney advises keeping the area clean and dry so it heals quickly.

While most symptoms last up to three weeks (the medication shortens the duration by a couple of days), nerve injury could take longer to heal and the pain can persist long after the rash has gone, Associate Professor Macartney says. This pain is called post-herpetic neuralgia and is preventable with the anti-viral medication.

“The pain can occur before the rash itself appears and it can be quite severe. It has been described as a stabbing pain, sometimes a burning pain and sometimes just a discomfort where people can’t bear tight-fitting clothing. It can often be so debilitating it can stop people going about their usual activities or make them housebound.”

I had shingles when I was eight months’ pregnant
Lisa Placanica, 28, experienced a case of shingles in September 2008, when she was pregnant with her first daughter Sara.

“I was heavily pregnant with my first daughter and one night I was lying on the couch and the left side of my lower back started to ache with a dull pain.

“When I touched it there were tiny bumps: I thought I’d been bitten by something and had a rash. Five minutes later, the lumps had become huge. They were sore to touch and it was very painful to walk.

“The scary part was that I was eight months’ pregnant at the time and my obstetrician said if I went into labour and needed a caesarean, they would have to put me under general anaesthetic and I wouldn’t
get to see my baby being born.

“The reason was because if the epidural needle pierced any of the sores it could have entered my bloodstream and been poisonous for me and my baby.

“Thankfully, it cleared up and one week later I had my daughter Sara. “I was very lucky but it was a very
scary and painful time.”

Article source: www.bodyandsoul.com.au/health+healing/news+features/what+is+shinglesr,12725

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