With the continuous intensification of the aging of the mainland population, the health problems of the elderly have become an important topic of concern for more and more people. Among a variety of elderly health problems, there is a common skin pain problem of the elderly, which is also worth paying attention to, this problem is unbearable when the attack occurs, and some elderly friends with low immunity will form long-term chronic pain, which seriously affects the quality of life in the old age, which is the elderly health problem that we want to popularize today - shingles.
What is shingles?
Herpes zoster is also known as "snake wrapped around the waist", "snake disc sores" and so on, but if we analyze it from a pathological point of view, herpes zoster is a secondary infectious disease caused by chickenpox virus.
Yes, the virus infection that causes herpes zoster and the virus that causes chickenpox are the same virus, usually when first infected with this virus, there will be symptoms related to chickenpox first, itchy blisters appear on the back, chest, face and other parts of the body, and spread to other parts, and when the chickenpox heals, the virus does not disappear completely from our body, but will enter the brain or nerves near the spinal cord to lurk, maybe a few years later, or decades later, the virus will "wake up" It also spreads along the nerve fibers to the skin, causing severe pain in the skin infection problem, which we call shingles.
Thus, shingles is an infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The most common site is a banded rash on the side of the patient's waist, but it may also appear on the forehead or around the eyes and other parts of the body, and the surface and underside of the rash will be accompanied by severe electric shock or needle-like pain, which can be painful. In addition to severe pain, shingles may be accompanied by the following related symptoms:
Lymphadenopathy
Fever, chills and headache
Itching
Stomach upset
With the continuous progression of the course of the disease, the rash of herpes zoster will gradually turn red, filled with fluid blisters, and in two weeks the effect becomes dry, scabs, some patients can gradually heal, the pain will gradually reduce and disappear, but there are still some people, especially the elderly friends with low immunity, there will be persistent pain after the rash disappears, this process may last for several years or even longer, known as postherpetic neuralgia, which is an important problem affecting the health and quality of life of the elderly in their later years.
5 groups of people are at risk of shingles
People who have suffered from chickenpox, when the immune system is weak, the virus may take advantage of the weakness, re-infect the skin, causing the problem of shingles, and the high-risk group of people who have suffered from shingles includes the following 5 conditions -
1. People over 50 years old. With age, the body's immunity will gradually decline, the older the age, the higher the risk of developing shingles, therefore, the elderly should pay special attention to the risk of the onset of shingles.
2. People with long-term psychological pressure. Too much stress, long-term anxiety and other adverse emotions, but also affect the body's immune balance, thereby waking up the virus, triggering the onset of herpes zoster.
3. People with cancer, AIDS and other diseases that reduce the body's immunity. Cancer, HIV infection and other rheumatic immune diseases are closely related to the body's reduced immunity, coupled with the adverse effects of related drug treatment on the immune system, the risk of herpes zoster will be higher.
4. There is serious physical injury. For example, after severe trauma or major surgical procedures, it is possible to increase the risk of shingles attacks.
5. People who take hormonal drugs for a long time. Long-term use of hormonal drugs will affect the stability of the body's immune system and increase the risk of shingles.
However, it is important to note that even if it does not fall into the above categories, shingles may still occur.
Be wary of the complications and contagiousness of shingles
The rash of shingles may gradually disappear, but some people will have long-lasting complications after the rash disappears, about 20% of patients with shingles, there are still symptoms of neuralgia after the rash disappears, in addition, the virus may also affect other nerves to cause encephalitis, facial paralysis and eye problems, vision loss, etc. Therefore, the risk of these complications of shingles is also worthy of special attention.
Many friends are concerned about whether shingles is contagious, and the answer to this question is contagious. People with shingles are contagious before the skin-related herpes scabs, and the virus can be transmitted to anyone who has not been vaccinated or has not had chickenpox, so patients with acute episodes of shingles should try to avoid contacting pregnant women, newborns, and immunocompromised people to avoid further spreading the virus to others.
Diagnosis and treatment of shingles
By asking for a medical history, combining relevant symptoms and conducting corresponding physical examinations, testing the substances in the rash can help to confirm the problem of shingles, which is 1 to 5 days before the rash, and there will be some early warning signs, including itching, tingling, burning sensation, pain and other symptoms that may occur at the rash site. If it is a friend who belongs to a high-risk group, it should also be actively valued.
If the diagnosis of herpes zoster virus is confirmed, although in the absence of therapeutic intervention, the herpes of the skin will also disappear on its own after a certain course of disease, but if the symptoms can be identified as soon as possible and the symptomatic use of antiviral drugs is an important aspect to ensure rapid recovery and reduce the risk of complications, especially in the first 3 days of the appearance of rash, taking antiviral drugs such as acyclovir, ganciclovir, and valacyclovir can best ensure the efficacy of the drug, promote recovery, and reduce the risk of complications.
For the pain problem caused by shingles, you can consider using related drugs to improve and relieve pain, as well as anxiety caused by pain, common drugs are gabapentin, amitriptyline, medicinal lotions, lidocaine, and acetaminophen, ibuprofen and other drugs, in addition, you can also use cold compresses to improve and relieve pain.
Prevention of shingles
On the one hand, the prevention of shingles should pay attention to improving the body's immunity, protecting the body's immune system, trying to avoid large fluctuations in immunity, and stimulating the activity of the virus, which in turn triggers the onset of shingles. For elderly friends, a balanced and reasonable nutritional diet, long-term adherence to exercise, optimistic and positive psychological state, good sleep, etc., are important aspects of protecting immunity, and should be actively practiced in daily life and adhered to for a long time.
Vaccination against shingles is another important way to prevent the onset of shingles. It is recommended that the elderly over 50 years old, conditional should go to the zoster virus vaccine, the current domestic vaccine has also been imported on the market, need to complete 2 doses of vaccination within half a year, for the prevention of herpes zoster has an effective rate of more than 90%, the disadvantage of this vaccine is that the price is higher, I hope that the domestic vaccine research units can develop a suitable for the Chinese people as soon as possible, cheap shingles virus, benefiting more Chinese elderly.
The above content is the introduction of the prevention, discovery and treatment of shingles related knowledge, I hope to be able to help middle-aged and elderly friends to understand the risk of shingles, but also welcome everyone to actively forward and share, so that more friends can see, let us work together to spread reliable health science knowledge.