Shingles, painful summer malady, rises with mercury
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A chickenpox bout does not in sure one against the contagion. The virus just stays dormant, waiting for the host to show signs of weakness to surface again in a different avatar this time as shingles.
With the peak of summer just two months away, city doctors are all set to see the routine summer-related ailments, including chickenpox. For the last few years, they have added a new malady to their list - herpes zoster, also known as shingles. Caused by the same virus that triggers chickenpox, varicella-zoster, shingles presents as a single stripe of blisters on either the left or the right side of the torso.
Doctors say the infection is often misdiagnosed as it first manifests as pain."The blister may develop three or four days later. In some cases, it may not appear at all. So, the symptoms are often mistaken for problems affecting the heart, lungs or kidneys," said K N Sarveswari, consultant dermatologist, Sundaram Medical Foundation.
After a chickenpox bout, the virus lies dormant in the nerve tissues. Years later, it resurface when the immune system is weak. Doctors say stress, erratic sleeping patterns, malnutrition and trauma can also rouse the virus.
The elderly, most of who have already had chickenpox once, form the largest group of people who suffer from the infection. Shanthi Raju, assistant professor, geriatric medicine at Madras Medical College, said the department saw at least 10 cases of shingles in the past month. "The infection, like chicken pox, surfaces during summers and the blister stay on for a week. However, there are a lot of other differences - patients rarely present with fever, the blisters form only on one side of the body along the affected nerve and the pain may last even after the blisters are gone," said Dr Shanthi. Doctors observed that diabetes also precipitated the infection as it lowers immunity levels.
Most of the elderly say the pain which comes with the infection can be constant dull, and cause a burning sensation "Sometimes, the pain can be jabbing or just numbness," said Dr Shanthi.
While vaccine is available to prevent shingles, doctors say awareness is still low among the public as many believe they are immune to the virus after having contracted chickenpox once. "We treat patients who come to us with anti-viral and advise them bed rest," said infectious diseases specialist Dr V Ramasubramanian, adding he also advised the patients to keep the blisters covered to prevent the infection from spreading.
Director of Public Health K Kulandaisamy said officials have been alerted to monitor areas that register unusually high number of cases of chickenpox and shingles. Public health specialists say cases of shingles have seen a rise over the past few years. "The incidence of herpes zoster is still relatively low, but we have included the virus too under our surveillance," he said.
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A chickenpox bout does not in sure one against the contagion. The virus just stays dormant, waiting for the host to show signs of weakness to surface again in a different avatar this time as shingles.
With the peak of summer just two months away, city doctors are all set to see the routine summer-related ailments, including chickenpox. For the last few years, they have added a new malady to their list - herpes zoster, also known as shingles. Caused by the same virus that triggers chickenpox, varicella-zoster, shingles presents as a single stripe of blisters on either the left or the right side of the torso.
Doctors say the infection is often misdiagnosed as it first manifests as pain."The blister may develop three or four days later. In some cases, it may not appear at all. So, the symptoms are often mistaken for problems affecting the heart, lungs or kidneys," said K N Sarveswari, consultant dermatologist, Sundaram Medical Foundation.
After a chickenpox bout, the virus lies dormant in the nerve tissues. Years later, it resurface when the immune system is weak. Doctors say stress, erratic sleeping patterns, malnutrition and trauma can also rouse the virus.
The elderly, most of who have already had chickenpox once, form the largest group of people who suffer from the infection. Shanthi Raju, assistant professor, geriatric medicine at Madras Medical College, said the department saw at least 10 cases of shingles in the past month. "The infection, like chicken pox, surfaces during summers and the blister stay on for a week. However, there are a lot of other differences - patients rarely present with fever, the blisters form only on one side of the body along the affected nerve and the pain may last even after the blisters are gone," said Dr Shanthi. Doctors observed that diabetes also precipitated the infection as it lowers immunity levels.
Most of the elderly say the pain which comes with the infection can be constant dull, and cause a burning sensation "Sometimes, the pain can be jabbing or just numbness," said Dr Shanthi.
While vaccine is available to prevent shingles, doctors say awareness is still low among the public as many believe they are immune to the virus after having contracted chickenpox once. "We treat patients who come to us with anti-viral and advise them bed rest," said infectious diseases specialist Dr V Ramasubramanian, adding he also advised the patients to keep the blisters covered to prevent the infection from spreading.
Director of Public Health K Kulandaisamy said officials have been alerted to monitor areas that register unusually high number of cases of chickenpox and shingles. Public health specialists say cases of shingles have seen a rise over the past few years. "The incidence of herpes zoster is still relatively low, but we have included the virus too under our surveillance," he said.
Labels: blisters, burning sensation, chickenpox, dormant, herpes zoster, nerve tissues, Shingles, virus
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