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Shingles pain

        Few people in the whole world can claim to have never suffered from shingles pain. How is that possible? Well, the answer is fairly simple: only about 0.01% of the entire global population has never had shingles. Basically, shingles is a skin condition caused not by a bacterium, as it is normally assumed, but rather by a virus: the varicella - zoster virus. If that sounds even remotely familiar, it must be because the same virus that causes shingles is the pathogen agent for chicken pox.

       Generally, when people talk about shingles pain, they refer to two different kinds of pain: one that is directly connected to the symptoms and the physical manifestations of shingles and one that appears after the disease has run its course. Unfortunately, the last one is the one type of shingles pain that a patient should fear because it cannot be removed completely by any sort of medication. While the first category of shingles pain is directly related to the inflamed tissue underneath the raw skin and it is easily treated by some sort of analgesic, the second form of shingles pain has a much more in - depth cause. It is so well documented that it actually has its own name: postherpetic neuralgia.

        Essentially, what happens is the following: the patient is healed, but the sensitivity of the affected area remains and, over time, it actually increases. This is not good news. If the sensitivity does not remain at least stable for long periods of time, it means that the nerves connected to that particular patch of skin have been damaged irreparably. Nerve damage is never a good thing. Do not worry, though. Very few patients actually develop this type of shingles pain and they tend to have bigger health concerns that a ten by ten portion of skin that hurts when you touch it.

       Now, going back to the initial shingles pain, there are a few things that can be discussed about it. Firstly, the intensity of the symptomatic shingles pain varies. Usually, if the shingles appears on the face or the neck, the pain is greater than if the shingles manifests itself on the arms or the chest. It is normal, since the nerve endings on the face are by far more sensitive than the ones connected to the skin cells on the chest. Secondly, the timing of the first twinge of shingles pain is crucial to the diagnosis process.

        Yes, it is true that the dermatologist can diagnose your shingles problem just by getting a glance at the lesions, but the type of shingles pain will tell your attending physician what stage the disease is in. If the pain is dull and throbbing, then the shingles has not gone viral yet. If the patient feels "pins and needles", then the problem is slightly more complicated.

Shingles pain: how to manage it

       Well, not many things can be said about the shingles pain and its treatment. It usually goes away once the blisters disappear, but some people just cannot tolerate it even for small portions of time. For those unfortunate few, there are solutions, though sometimes they can cause more trouble than they are worth. For example, if you want to numb the area, a nice pack of ice or frozen vegetables can help you. Try not to overdo it or you might squish the pustules and release the fluid inside.

       Some sort of analgesic cream can be used, but only before the little, liquid - filled sacks appear. Afterwards, nothing can touch the pustules or else they could break. If they do crack, then you problems might just get more painful because the liquid contains pathogen agents that will infect other portions of skin. Usually, shingles is self - contained, but if you manage to spread it, it will wreak havoc on anything it finds.