Shingles: Symptoms, Treatment & More: ER Near Me
One of the things shingles is commonly known for is its close relationship with chickenpox as it affects people who had a case of chickenpox in the past. As per the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, shingles is a viral infection which causes a very painful tripe of rash, usually on the left or right side of the torso. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox. After one has had chickenpox and it has cleared, the varicella-zoster virus may live and stay inactive in the nerve tissue near the spinal cord and brain for years before reactivating as shingles, as discussed in detail over at the excellent frontlineerrichmond.com. In most cases, shingles will clear up after 2 to 3 weeks, and is also usually not life-threatening. It is also worth pointing out the shingles will very rarely occur more than once in the same person, which is good news given how painful the rash is. If you have shingles, then you will definitely know about it mostly due to the pain, but there is a lot about it that you may not know and hopefully, this article, with the help of the gurus over at frontlineerdallas.com, will help you fill any gaps.
We are going to start by taking a look at the symptoms as far as shingles is concerned. As per the folks over at frontlineer.com, the very first signs of shingles are usually the pain and burning. Usually, you will begin to experience sharp, stabbing or shooting pain on one side of your body, which will be followed by a red rash. Other than the pain, you may also experience burning as stated above, as well as numbness and a tingling sensation, also know as a feeling of pins and needles, in or under your skin. More symptoms of shingles include itching and a sensitivity to touch on the affected area, mostly due to the rash. Speaking of the rash, it usually develops a few days after the pain, as mentioned above and as per the experts over at frontlineerrichmond.com. The rash usually manifests itself as red patches on the side of the body, and sometimes on the neck, face and ears. Another symptom of shingles are fluid-filled blisters that break easily and crust over. Other symptoms of shingles as discussed over at the highly rated frontlineerdallas.com, include a fever, headache, fatigue and lethargy, sensitivity to light, chills, abdominal pain as well as muscle weakness.
As per the folks over at frontlineer.com, while there is no cure for shingles, it is still important to have it addressed as soon as possible so as to not only make sure you recover quickly, but also to prevent any possible complications. According to frontlineerrichmond.com, it is recommended that you get treatment for shingles within 72 hours of developing symptoms. Since, as mentioned above, there is no cure, your doctor will usually recommend medication that will help ease the symptoms and also shorten the length of time you will take convalescing from the infection. The medication given for shingles will also vary as you may be prescribed anti-inflammation drugs such as ibuprofen to help with the swelling and pain, antiviral medications to help with the pain as well as help to speed up the recovery, antihistamines to help with the itching among others, all of which are discussed in detail over at the excellent frontlineerdallas.com. Once you see your doctor and have medication prescribed, while the infection should clear up within a few weeks, the symptoms should lessen within a few days. However, if your symptoms don’t lessen within 10 days, then it is recommended that you consult your doctor to know how to proceed. Other than treatment with medication, there are a number of home remedies that can come in handy if you have shingles. They include taking a cool bath or making use of cool and wet compresses on your blisters which should help relieve the pain and itching. If you have shingles, it is recommended that you take it easy and keep your stress levels low as high stress levels will increase the pain levels.
While shingles isn’t a medical emergency requiring a visit to an ER near you such as the highly rated frontlineer.com, there are certain instances and complications as far as it is concerned that may warrant such a visit. For instance, if you are experiencing symptoms that are extremely severe, then you might want to head over to an ER near you to be assessed as this may be a sign of something more sinister, especially if the rash is extremely painful and widespread. The same applies to instances of shingles involving more than 2 dermatomes, which as per the folks over at frontlineerrichmond.com, is the area of the skin supplied by branches of a single spinal sensory nerve root. If the pain or rash occurs near your eye, then you should also head over to an ER to have it attended to as such an infection can lead to permanent eye damage. If you have a weakened immune system and you develop shingles, then you should also seek medical attention immediately so as to avoid any unwanted consequences. You should also look out for signs of an infection in the brain or spinal cord such as meningitis, which may occur in certain instances of shingles, and which are discussed in detail over at the excellent frontlineerdallas.com.
There is a lot more to learn about this and other related topics, and you can do so by heading over to the excellent frontlineer.com, frontlineerrichmond.com and frontlineerdallas.com, which are also the best place to go to for emergency medical services.
