ShinglesMedical Author:
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhDDr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications. Medical Editor:
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical EditorMelissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Shingles...the Short StoryAuthor: Nili N. Alai, MD, FAAD
Once people have had a single bout of chickenpox, the virus lies dormant in the nerve roots near the spinal cord or base of the facial nerve. It is thought that when a person has a weakened immune system or when their immunity to the varicella virus is diminished the virus can reactivate to inflame a nerve and cause shingles. Although shingles may happen at any age, it is most common in the fifth through sixth decades of life. Top Searched Shingles Terms
symptoms, causes, treatment, herpes zoster, chicken pox, hives, scabies, vaccine, postherpetic neuralgia, rash, famciclovir, acyclovir, valacyclovir, vaccination
Shingles InformationShingles (also termed herpes zoster or zoster) is a disease caused by reactivation of a previous infection with the herpes zoster virus (also named varicella-zoster virus, VZV, HHV-3, or chickenpox virus) that results in a painful localized skin rash, usually with blisters (fluid-filled sacs) on top of reddish skin. Herpes zoster viruses do not cause the sexually transmitted disease genital herpes. That disease is caused by another virus named herpes genitalis (also termed herpes simplex virus, type 2 or HSV-2). The chickenpox virus (varicella-zoster, VZV) may remain in a dormant state in the body, usually in the root of nerves that control sensation. In about one out of five people infected with chickenpox, the virus "wakes up," or reactivates, often many years after a childhood chickenpox infection. When the virus is reactivated and causes shingles, the resulting virus is usually referred to as herpes zoster virus. Researchers do not know what causes this reactivation. What is known is that after reactivation the virus travels along a sensory nerve into the skin and causes shingles. The majority of people who get shingles are over the age of 60; it infrequently occurs in younger people and children. Investigators estimate that about 1 million cases of shingles occur per year in the U.S. The first reference listed in this article is a slideshow that offers pictures of the rash and blisters that occur with shingles.
Viewer Comments & ReviewsShingles - DiagnosisThe eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:How was your case of shingles diagnosed? Shingles - Symptoms and SignsThe eMedicineHealth physician editors asked:What were the symptoms and signs of your shingles? Shingles - Effective TreatmentsThe eMedicineHealth physician editors asked:What kinds of treatments have been effective for your shingles? |
Shingles, or herpes zoster, is a very common painful, blistering viral 
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Herpes Zoster »
Herpes zoster (shingles) is 1 of 2 distinctive manifestations of human infection with the varicella-zoster virus(VZV), the other being varicella (chickenpox).
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