Does anyone have first hand information about shingles?

Question

what causes this ailment anyway?

Answer 1

YOU CAN ONLY GET IT IF YOU HAVE HAD CHICKENPOX. CHICKENPOX SETTLES INTO THE SPINAL NERVES AND LIES DORMANT UNNTIL STRESS, POOR DIET, LACK OF SLEEP, ETC. TAKES ITS TOLL ON YOU. MOST OFTEN OCCRUS AFTER 50. CAUSES POX LIKE LEASIONS TO BREAK OUT ON NERVE ENDINGS. VERY VERY PAINFUL, HARD TO GET RID OF, AND CAN RE-OCCUR. HAD IT LAST YEAR FOR ABOUT 7 MONTHS., NOW I HAVE PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY IN MY HANDS AND FEET AND IT IS ALSO VERY PAINFUL, AND WILL NEVER GO AWAY.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

Once you contract chicken pox you can later in life get shingles. It remains dormante in most people but when it decides to surface you'll get a painful rash usually located on the trunk or your body. It does not usually spread but it can if your immune system is weakened. My Grandfather suffered twice with it and each time he had been under stress due to other health issues. You can not contract shingles from another person but it can cause chicken pox in those who have not had it yet.

Answer 5

Shingles is caused by Herpes Zoroaster. The outbreak occurs sometime after you've had chicken-pox. Herpes Zoroaster is believed to a mutated form of chicken-pox. Bad news, once you got it, it don't go away. Outbreaks occur about every seven years. In later life it can prove fatal if it infects a vital mucus membrane. It is easily treated but it is never cured. Out breaks will appear along nerve lines and can cause nerve damage if left untreated.

Answer 6

Chicken pox (varicella) infects an individual and then lies dormant in the nerve roots. Later in life the virus can "reawaken" and become symptomatic, this is shingles (zoster). So you had to have been exposed to chicken pox in order to develop shingles. Hope this clears up any confusion!

Answer 7

Yes - I had it when I was 37 all over my shoulders. It really sucks. I actually came down with it three days before I was leaving for a vacation in Italy. It is viral. Sometimes if you take anti viral drugs right when it starts it helps out at least shorten the length of the affliction. Don't have a date when you have it or you will scare the hell out of your date! She will think you have the plague or something. The virus is related to the Chicken Pox. They say the older in life you contract it the worse it is. If you have it, good luck. I found that smearing things with menthol helped to at least relieve the sores.

Answer 8

yes I do, I had it once.

Its like cancer or chicken pox, its already in your body just something (stress or whatever) makes it come out

I got it on my back and the stupid doctor said it was jock itch - gross

I didnt believe him so I went to two other doctors who both confirmed it was shingles.

I took meds for a week and put cream on it and it went away.

rumor has it that if it starts on your back and spreads from both sides that if it circles around you body to meet where you stomach is that you will die....dont know if its true or not but thought that was a little interesting bit of info

Answer 9

It isn't herpes zoroaster (Zoroasterism is a religion!!!!....) It is Herpes zoster, as opposed to Herpes simplex..... but it is a herpes infection, caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. It is in the herpes family of viruses that also cause cold sores, and genital herpes..... There is now a vaccine for it, which is about 80% effective, but can be given only to those people who at one time had chickenpox. Talk with your doc. The virus resides in the nerves ----- forever..... It cannot be cured, it can only be treated. It can be, in some people, extremely painful, and the pain can go one for weeks, months and even years. Nasty little virus......

Answer 10

yes! i got it when i was about nine, all around my stomach and chest and it was awful. but apperently it's worse the older you are when you get it, although i've heard it means you can't get chicken pox again after it. don't know what causes it though?!?