At the time of the visit, the patient's pain was already making him uneasy, and the doctor immediately confirmed that it was shingles, and it was in the initial stage, and herpes had not yet appeared. If it is delayed for a few more days, there will be changes in the skin lesions of the body, just like that, at this time, you should hurry up and press down, and the effect will be much faster.
Main symptoms
Generally, there is no abnormality on the skin in the early stage of shingles, but it is painful "for no reason", which is difficult to diagnose and easy to misdiagnose.
When the skin has not yet blistered, many patients are misdiagnosed with intercostal neuralgia, frozen shoulder, cervical spondylosis, breast disease, heart disease, lumbar disc herniation, sciatica, acute abdomen, etc.
From the clinical observation, most patients often have prodromal symptoms such as fatigue and local pain before the onset of herpes. The herpes zoster virus most commonly invades the spinal nerves in the thoracolumbar segment. Therefore, many patients feel pain in one side of the chest, back or waist in the early stage of the disease, and the most common feeling is "knife-like, burning, and pinprick-like" pain, and the degree of pain is not necessarily related to the severity of the rash.
Often, the pain in elderly patients is severe and even unbearable. Moreover, about 30%~50% of middle-aged and elderly patients will have refractory neuralgia after the herpes subsides, which often lasts for several months or longer.
TCM causes of herpes zoster
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "snake sores" are related to emotions.
Poor mood, stress, nervousness, stagnation of liver qi, long-term depression turns into fire, and relapse into poisonous evil, which can make the virus latent in the spinal nerves become active. In addition, due to the decline of the body's immunity, poor diet, loss of spleen health, dampness and heat, resulting in susceptibility to poison and evil, dampness, heat, fire and poison accumulation in the skin and the onset of diseases.
Its disease is located in the skin, which is related to the liver and spleen, and its disease is mainly characterized by fire, dampness and heat, and some of them are sandwiched with evidence of qi deficiency and yin deficiency. Spring is the peak period for herpes zoster, and there are many patients.
How to prevent it
1. Pay attention to hygiene
Keep your body dry and hygienic. If the skin is damaged, it is important to take care of it promptly and prevent it from becoming infected with proper disinfection and protection.
2. Eat a balanced and nutritious diet
Eat a balanced and regular diet every day. When the nutrients needed by the human body can be obtained in time to meet the needs, you will find that you will not get sick at every turn, which can achieve a good preventive effect on many diseases.
3. Don't stay up late
If you want to actively improve your resistance and maintain normal skin function, you need to have a reasonable schedule and sleep every day in the process of strengthening your resistance.
4. Strengthen your workouts
Lack of exercise for a long time is not only easy to become obese and cause blood circulation disorders in the body, but also may allow the virus to take advantage of the virus due to the inability to exert immunity, and herpes zoster is easy to appear after infection.
5. Relieve liver and depression
Spring is the stage when the liver meridian is vigorous, and you can eat more foods that dredge the liver meridian and reduce liver fire. For example, black plum rock sugar boiled water, nourishing yin, strengthening the spleen and regulating qi, drinking it every day in summer, the effect is very good. Honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, fried cassia seeds, the three of them can be made into green tea to reduce the fire, and also have a slight effect on soothing the liver and regulating qi.
Roses have the function of soothing the liver and regulating qi, and you can use roses to make tea.
Radish is good for qi and stomach, dispels cold and eliminates phlegm, green radish has good curative effect, followed by red-skinned radish. For women with a cold stomach, they can eat pork ribs or beef stewed radish soup. The liver meridian is well-connected, and the case is not easy to invade. Dietary contraindications for herpes zoster: avoid spicy and warm food, be cautious of fatty and greasy products, and be cautious of sour and astringent products.
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In this issue: Xia Meng, deputy chief physician of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Emergency General Hospital of the Ministry of Emergency Management, Beijing Health Science Popularization Expert