Reactivated Chickenpox Virus: Shingles

Reactivated Chickenpox Virus: Shingles, Outbreak of some particular illness is perhaps the biggest fear of parents. When the time comes for kids to go to school, socialize, meet and mingle with other people, the external exposure towards various influences including contact with other kids that open some risks of virus transmissions has been widely open. However, outbreak is sometime unavoidable like chickenpox virus break out. Commonly, when people have experienced or affected by chickenpox virus in one of his/ her point of life, the body immune system will develop walls to protect from another break out in the future. There are conditions, though, where the virus of chickenpox are reactivated and causing another illness. This is named shingles and the signs are called shingles symptoms.




Signs and Symptoms of Shingles
Early signs of shingles symptoms include improving sensitivity to light, headache and other symptoms that often mistakenly understood as influenza signs. However, there is one symptom missing from influenza-like signs in the early stage of shingles, i.e. fever. After several days or weeks, the early signs are followed by the appearance of rash in particular areas of the body. It can occur on the left or right part of the body but not both sides. Rather than feeling itch, people infected with this reactivated virus will tend to feel the pain. Normally, the rash occurs from the back and then move towards the chest area. Sometimes, it can also occur on the face, surrounding the area of left or right eye.

Shingles Development Stage 1
The first stage of shingles will consist of the following shingles symptoms:
• surrounding the affected nerves, feeling of burnt, tingled, pain and numbness can occur before rash appear. It is normally taking some time from days into weeks
• feeling of discomfort starts to appear, normally around the back or chest areas, although in other parts of the body such as face, neck, belly, arms and legs may also be affected by discomfort
• without a fever influenza symptoms can also start occurring marking the beginning or rash
• lymph nodes swells and tenderness following the appearance of rash

Shingles Development Stage 2
The second stage of shingles refers to the appearance of blisters and rash. This is following the first stage. A couple of the first stage’ shingles symptoms may be preceding rash occurrence. Below are the signs:
• the rash area starts to occur, on the left or right area of the body and soon afterwards, blisters form. At the beginning, the fluid inside the blisters will look clear but then getting cloudy after three or four days. In some cases, blisters occur without rash or the rash is mild
• areas affected by rash occurrence will be around one of the eyes, nose, cheek and forehead
• along with skin rash appearance, affected people will feel piercing needles in the skin pain
• after five days, the blisters can break, ooze and crust while the rash heals between fourteen to thirty days, leaving marks or scars on the skin

Shingles Development Stage 3
The last stage actually does not apply to any shingles symptoms, since it refers to a chronic condition only. This condition is called postherpetic neuralgia which can be over only in thirty days but can also extend up to months or years. The signs are including burning feeling, and in earlier rash shingles area, stabbing pain occurs. People affected with acute shingles are also highly sensitive towards touch. In worse cases, the pain can stay there for many years. Commonly, these symptoms are misunderstood as herpes simplex virus infection.