Shingles is an acute or sudden onset of a viral inflammation that is characterized by very painful blisters that typically appear on one side of the body, in a linear distribution on the skin following the nerve pathways. Shingles is a condition which manifests in the form of blisters which contain fluid. This outbreak can cause itching, burning, tingling, and numbness. These blisters appear most commonly around the waistline on one side of the body. They appear in a belt-like pattern. This condition is not exclusively located around the waist area, however.

Shingles Appear as a Red Rash with Clear Blisters: The virus causes an eruption, usually in a straight line rather than a random pattern, of red bumps which form clear blisters, much like chickenpox. The major difference between the two diseases is that shingles can be very painful because they form around nerves.

Causes:

Shingles is very contagious. It can be spread from any affected person to both children and adults who have never had chickenpox. Instead of actually developing shingles, these children or adults will develop chickenpox, but once they have had chickenpox, they cannot catch shingles or contract the virus from someone else. However, once you have been infected, you do have the potential to develop shingles later in your life.

The virus that causes chicken pox in childhood goes into dormancy. After years, it gets triggered again. The triggers may include age, stress, depressed immune system, etc. As the virus gets activated, the patient gets shingles. The affected area pains for a day or two. After that, the blisters begin appearing. Blisters appear on one side of the body in a band-like fashion.

Stress can cause shingles because chronic stress will affect the immune system. Normally, during a stressful event the body will change the way the immune system will work. This is done by passing adrenaline and cortisol through the bloodstream. In terms of the immune system this will increase the consistency of the blood to make it thicker or sticky. This is in case of injuries that require clotting to seal the injury. This will increase the amount of plasma in the blood.

Shingles cannot be passed by anyone else through being around them. Shingles is not located in the upper respiratory system so it cannot be passed into the air. However, if a child touches or come in contact with the blisters of a person affected with this condition, the child will not catch Shingles but he can catch Chickenpox instead. Of course later on in life, the same virus can resurface causing the development of Shingles.

By the way, a person who is immuno-suppressed (has a weak immune system) needs to be on the lookout for shingles to appear. A normal immune system keeps shingles dormant around the spine, but a disease like AIDS that suppresses the immune system can awaken the sleeping virus. If you're suffering from AIDS or have been affected by a drug or condition that lowers your immunity to disease, let your health care provider know right away if painful red bumps begin to appear.


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