What you should know about shingles
In shingles, painful blisters form along nerves in the skin
Quelle: picture-alliance / OKAPIA KG, Ge
Viruses trigger the painful, red rash. They are particularly insidious, often hiding in the body for decades. Only in certain situations do they become active again.
Dhe rash runs like a belt around the body. Small, fine blisters and pustules that itch and hurt like hell. Anyone who has ever had shingles will always remember it.
The disease can also affect anyone. At least anyone who has ever had chicken pox. Because chickenpox and shingles are triggered by the same pathogen, the varicella-zoster virus. They belong to the herpes viruses, and almost everyone is infected via droplets in the course of their lives. Anyone who is not vaccinated will first get a fever and a little later the typical itchy blisters, the chicken pox.
The blisters and itching will eventually go away. But in most cases, the varicella virus can hide in the body. They nest in the nerve roots of the spinal cord. Here they can “rest” unnoticed for a long time.
(Almost) anyone can get sick
The varicella viruses are insidious because they make you ill, even though the infection can be years, sometimes even decades ago. If a person has a weakened immune system, for example because they are old, take certain medications or suffer from psychological stress, the viruses can become active again.
Viruses hide in the nerve roots and can migrate along the nerve fibers in certain situations. Pustules and blisters then form on the skin
Quelle: Getty Images/Universal Images Group
What then follows has little to do with the annoying itching of chickenpox: shingles hurts enormously, and this pain is the first symptom. Around 700,000 people in Germany contract shingles every year. A few days after the first onset of pain, redness and small blisters form. They sometimes form small rosettes and can be filled with blood.
The pustules usually stretch around the body like a belt (hence the name). This is because the viruses move from the nerve roots along the nerve tracts of the skin, especially in the chest and lumbar region. After a few days, the blisters burst, crust over and often heal without scarring. Sometimes it can take up to a month for shingles to heal completely.
Vaccination helps
Doctors usually suggest painkillers as therapy so that the disease is bearable. If shingles is detected early enough, medication can also be taken that inhibits the multiplication of the virus. So-called virus statics are recommended, especially for older patients, as they support the already weakened immune system.
You can’t protect yourself, at least not if you’ve already had chickenpox. That is why the Standing Vaccination Commission has recommended vaccination against chickenpox for children since 2004. This protects against the outbreak of chickenpox. However, the vaccination does not protect against the viruses entering the body and hiding in the nerves. Then, when shingles occurs later in life, which is very rare, the pain and symptoms are far less severe.