The common name for herpes zoster. This disease is the result of viral inflammation of the root of a sensory nerve. Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken-pox in children. It is thought that after chicken-pox, the virus remains dormant in some or all nerve roots, only becoming active to cause shingles in states of severely reduced immunity. Shingles is marked by clusters of small blisters and severe pain in the skin by the nerve. The redness and scabs remaining after the blisters break usually last two to three weeks. In some cases the pain along the course of the nerve may last for some months after the blisters have disappeared. There is no specific treatment for shingles, but rest and analgesics will help to relieve symptoms. The new anti-viral drugs will shorten the course of an attack.
Shingles is painful that a pain reliever could not ease the pain and torments the patients for even years. A pitiful sight for an old age victim to endure the excruciating pain in the spinal and blisters in the skin. Let us boost our immune system for the virus is just there waiting its time.