What is Shingles - Herpes Zoster: Shingles (known also as Herpes Zoster) is a very sore, rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. It affects a limited area of the body and skin. Not only can it be very painful but it can also make you feel weak, tired and many even cause severe depression.

What causes Shingles - Herpes Zoster: You can only get shingles if you have previously had chickenpox. After having chickenpox the virus lies dormant in the nerves, and shingles occurs when it is revitalised in one particular nerve to the skin, this explains the way it affects a certain band or area of the skin. Many times the outbreak is caused by a decrease in your body's natural resistance or a weakness to the immune system. Most people who get shingles are more than 49 years old.

Shingles - Herpes Zoster - Symptoms: Usualy the first symptom of shingles is often over-sensitivity or a burning sensation on the skin in the affected area. After a few days, a rash develops. It usually appears as a band or path, following the route of a nerve under the skin. At first, the rash consists of small red spots and reddened skin in the same area. The spots then turn into small blisters, which dry up after a few days, and gradually form scabs. Shingles is often a very painful condition, since it affects the nerves, the pain may continue after the rash has cleared, sometimes lingering for months or years.

Shingles - Herpes Zoster - Treatment: Shingles is most often treated with acyclovir, famciclovir, or valacyclovir (also named: Valtrex). Your doctor will decide which of these medicines might work the best for you. Most of the medications work better if they are started within the first couple of days after you get the shingles rash. Often a doctor will also prescribe a steroid medicine to reduce the pain and swelling. If you get Shingles of the eye it is often treated with antiviral medicines and steroids.

Shingles - Herpes Zoster - Prevention: There is a study under way for a vaccine to prevent shingles, called the 'Shingles Prevention Study'. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is asking for volunteers for the study at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Interested people should call for more information: Toll-Free 1-877-841-6251

There is a website that provides cures, facts and other great information on Shingles - Herpes Zoster and numerous medical conditions, the website is called: All About Health, and can be found at this url:

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