You know you’re not in Kansas anymore when you have shingles. Until you treat it, your skip down that yellow brick road is definitely waylaid. But if you get treatment at the very first sign of an outbreak, it may be gone before it begins.
By that I mean, someone who has the shingles virus can get a pain or odd feeling in a certain area of their body, and maybe a headache, but not know it’s shingles. So it gets worse, it hurts more each day, and a rash and blisters come. They go to the doctor and get treatment, but it’s already advanced. They now have a case of shingles that could last months. And they will be pretty much alone.
That’s because shingles is contagious: A person with shingles can transmit the virus to another person, who has never had chicken pox, and that person will get chicken pox, not shingles.
This nightmare can be avoided if you know the first signs, and see a doctor post haste. But how do you know the signs?
If you have had chicken pox, you have the virus that causes shingles, and along with that, if you are over 50, you are in the most susceptible group. Early signs shingles may be some or all of these:Numbness, burning, itching, or tingling on one side of your body, in one area, maybe on your stomach, face, arm, shoulder, waist or elsewhere.
Headache, flu like symptoms, tiredness.
Some people don’t get numbness or itching in one place. Instead, a rash will be the first sign. It will probably be in one area, on one side of the body. It may be in a strip, band, or small patch.
Don’t wait, see a doctor. They can give you an anti-viral such as Valtrex or famciclovir. These medicines, also used for herpes, and can even be bought online through a sexual health center or online pharmacy. By getting the medicine your doctor advises immediately, the virus will be slowed, or halted.
If you don’t get shingles treated in time:
The symptoms get worse. Sufferers say its the most painful thing they’ve ever experienced. After the rash, blisters form. Sometimes they hurt so much that even heavy pain meds don’t help.
If you get it on your face and eye area, you can lose your vision in one eye temporarily, and have poor vision in that eye for the rest of your life, because of cornea damage.
You can be out of commission for weeks or months. You get better, but then get more outbreaks.
In addition to being on the look out for early warning signs there is something even better you can do!
People over 60 and certain other groups (not including those with weakened immune systems) can get a shingles vaccine. It works in 51% of adults to stop further attacks for good, or to lessen frequency of outbreaks and the severity of symptoms if they occur.
You can get the vaccine by checking with your health care provider, and you don’t even have to wait to see the wizard!
Written by: Roger Goodwyn, an accomplished writer who currently writes for eDrugstore.md, a safe online pharmacy. You can view other entertaining stories by Mr. Goodwyn, such as The History of Viagra.
