Infectious disease is caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus
Shingles has health officials on high alert. This is because, this old acquaintance of doctors and infectologists around the world, has had an increase in the number of cases in Brazil. According to a recent study by the State University of Montes Claros (Unimontes), the number of cases of the disease has increased by an average of 35.4% in Brazil in recent years.
Originating from the same virus that causes chickenpox, this disease can affect anyone who has had the disease at some point in their life. It is especially dangerous for people who have compromised immune systems.
What is shingles?
Infectologist Luiz Otávio da Fonseca, accredited by Paraná Clínicas, a company of the SulAmérica group, explains that shingles, popularly also known as shingles, has a very common origin.
“This is a infectious disease caused by the Varicella-Zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox, which is the primary infection manifested from the moment of contamination. Shingles, on the other hand, is a disease caused by the reactivation of the virus years or decades after its acquisition “, explains the specialist.
Low immunity can reactivate the disease
According to the doctor, the reactivation of the disease can occur due to the low immunity of the body. “This is not necessarily a problem as the virus is quickly fought by the antibodies produced by the body every time it tries to reactivate itself (causing disease in the body),” he explains.
However, Dr. Luiz Otávio da Fonseca points out that, over the years, the individual’s immunity can decrease, causing varicella-zoster to cause shingles. “That is, to keep the virus in check, we need a strong and healthy immune system,” he says.
Symptoms of shingles
Despite the name, it is important to point out that shingles is not directly related to herpes simplex, one that causes injuries to the mouth and genitals. Therefore, among the symptoms of shingles are:
- Skin rashes (which always appear on the same side of the body);
- Burning and itching at the wound site;
- Fever;
- Headache;
- malaise;
Another common symptom is very intense pain in the nerves of the thoracic, cervical, lumbar or facial area. They usually precede the appearance of the lesions and, in some cases, can persist for months, even after the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Treatment of shingles
Once the disease occurs, treatment is carried out with analgesics and antiviral drugs aimed at relieving symptoms and promoting faster wound healing. How much more early diagnosis and the beginning of the drug, the faster the cure.
While it does not pose a great danger to most patients, shingles can cause very unpleasant pain and injury and put the elderly, immunosuppressed people, or people with other diseases that cause immunodeficiency at a greater level of danger.
How to prevent shingles?
Varicella-Zoster is only transmissible to people who have never had chickenpox or who did not receive the vaccine against the disease in childhood. In these cases it is important to stay away from patients showing symptoms of shingles and not to have contact with their clothes, sheets, blankets or towels.
Other form of prevention is the recently approved vaccine against shingles, mainly indicated for people over the age of 50, the age group with the highest incidence of the disease. The vaccine is only available in the private network and is capable of reducing the onset of the disease by up to 50%.
Even in cases where the disease occurs, there is a significant reduction in the number of lesions and the risk of worsening in people vaccinated. However, it is worth remembering that in case of manifestations of symptoms, it is important to immediately contact an infectologist to begin treatment.
By José Luiz Sykacz
Source: Terra
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