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Shingles on the face and on scalp

        There are many types of shingles out there, most of them not more dangerous then the common cold. However, for every ten of those benign shingles forms, there is one that can cause some serious problems. The most well known of these rather perilous forms of the disease is the shingles on the face. It might sound a bit weird or a bit out of place because everyone known that shingles usually develops on the neck or on the chest. Even on the arms, in some cases. But on the face? Well, yes, it does appear on the face in rare situations. Unfortunately, the fact that it is rare does not make it any less dangerous or any easier to avoid. After all, it is common knowledge that there is no way to prevent shingles and shingles the on face is no exception to that rule.

       One might wonder what makes shingles on the face so much different from any other type of shingles out there. Well, the answer to that one is rather standard medical textbook: its location. See, while shingles on the chest cannot really reach any particularly life - threatening areas, shingles on the face does not have all that expanse of skin to develop and still keep away from any important bits and pieces. For example, if the shingles on the face start to show up on your left cheek, it can go either up, down or sideways. The characteristic rash expands about ten centimeters. Unless you have an unusually wide face, the rash will either reach you eye, your nose or your ear. None of those places should ever be affected by a virus.

       The reasoning behind fearing shingles on the face is the following one: if the varicella - zoster virus manages to enter the eyes, it can cause blindness. If the patient and the attending physician react fast to the threat, the blindness is reversible, though the affected person will never have the same eyesight as before. If they tardy for some reason, nothing can be saved. It is a forty eight to seventy two hours window. Too short for most patients.

       If the pathogen agent touches the nose, the airways can be blocked within hours. This is easily confused with a common cold symptom, but in a couple of days it will become obvious that the problem is much more serious. Just like with the eyes, the patient can lose their sense of smell permanently and the varicella - zoster virus enters the body in its active form. None of it is good news.

       When talking about the ears, the situation gets a bit trickier: it might take a while for the rash to manage to attack anything that can cause permanent damage. However, this subtype of shingles on the face is, also, the hardest to treat. Again, it is all about location, location, location. The antiviral medication that the physician might prescribe for their patient has the ability of seriously interfering with the hearing if it has to do its job so close to the ear canal. If the virus actually reaches the ear drum, then nothing can be done: it will destroy the very thing, very important web in no time.

       Everything described above makes shingles on the face the most dangerous and hard to treat form of shingles out there.

Shingles on scalp: fact or fiction?

       Some specialists believe that shingles on scalp is nothing more that a tale to scare the patients. The truth is that shingles on scalp is most certainly a reality and a rather ugly one. For one, shingles on scalp hurts. It hurts more than any other type of shingles for one reason and one only: if it gets to the blistering phase, there is no way for you comb your hair or even to touch the affected area. The skin on your head is a little bit more sensitive than the one on your chest and it shows: the blisters tend to appear about a week earlier than they would in the case of normal shingles. Also, if left untreated, shingles on scalp can cause baldness, something that no one wants.