What Are The Symptoms
The first sign of shingles is often burning, sharp pain, tingling, or numbness in your skin on one side of your body or face. The most common site is the back or upper abdomen. You may have severe itching or aching. You also may feel tired and ill with fever, chills, headache, and upset stomach or belly pain.
One to 14 days after you start feeling pain, you will notice a rash of small blisters on reddened skin. Within a few days after they appear, the blisters will turn yellow, then dry and crust over. Over the next 2 weeks the crusts drop off, and the skin continues to heal over the next several days to weeks.
Because shingles usually follows nerve paths, the blisters are usually found in a line, often extending from the back or side around to the belly. The blisters are almost always on just one side of the body. Shingles usually doesn’t cross the midline of the body. The rash also may appear on one side of your face or scalp. The painful rash may be in the area of your ear or eye. When shingles occurs on the head or scalp, symptoms can include headaches and weakness of one side of the face, which causes that side of the face to look droopy. The symptoms usually go away eventually, but it may take many months.
In some cases the pain can last for weeks, months, or years, long after the rash heals. This is called postherpetic neuralgia.
Antiviral Medicines For Shingles
Antiviral medicines used to treat shingles include aciclovir, famciclovir and valaciclovir. An antiviral medicine is not a cure for shingles, it does not kill the virus but works by stopping the virus from multiplying. So, it may limit the severity of symptoms of the shingles episode.
An antiviral medicine is most useful when started in the early stages of shingles . However, in some cases your doctor may still advise you have an antiviral medicine even if the rash is more than 72 hours old – particularly in elderly people with severe shingles, or if shingles affects an eye.
Antiviral medicines are not advised routinely for everybody with shingles. As a general rule, the following groups of people who develop shingles will normally be advised to take an antiviral medicine:
- If you are over the age of 50. The older you are, the more risk there is of severe shingles or complications developing and the more likely you are to benefit from treatment.
- If you are of any age and have any of the following:
- Shingles that affects the eye or ear.
- A poorly functioning immune system .
- Shingles that affects any parts of the body apart from the trunk .
- Moderate or severe pain.
If prescribed, a course of an antiviral medicine normally lasts seven days.
Visit The Doctor If You Have Shingles Symptoms
If you have symptoms of shingles and notice a rash beginning to develop, its important that you see a doctor as soon as possible, preferably within 72 hours. Thats because the 3 antiviral drugs approved to treat shingles need to be started early in the course of the illness. When theyre taken right away, these drugs have been proven to shorten the time of viral activity, help the rash to heal more quickly, and reduce the intensity and duration of shingles pain. Also if your shingles pain is more than you can stand, see your doctor as soon as possible. This is no time for stoicism. Ignore your discomfort, and you could end up with irreversible nerve damage and years of pain, says Robb.
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Check If You Have Shingles
The first signs of shingles can be:
- a tingling or painful feeling in an area of skin
- a headache or feeling generally unwell
A rash will appear a few days later.
Usually you get the shingles rash on your chest and tummy, but it can appear anywhere on your body including on your face, eyes and genitals.
The rash appears as blotches on your skin, on 1 side of your body only. A rash on both the left and right of your body is unlikely to be shingles.
It Requires Direct Contact
Heres the tricky part: Alcohol only kills on contact. That means you have to spray the bugs directly, and it can be extremely difficult to find and expose bedbugs if you have an infestation.
Bedbugs can hide in very small amounts of space cracks in furniture, electrical outlets, between books on shelves. Getting alcohol into these spaces can be almost impossible.
Bedbugs often gather in out of the way spaces , so killing the bugs you can see wont eradicate the ones you dont see.
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Get Rid Of Cold Sores
Did you know 85% of our population are carriers of the herpes virus? Only a small percentage of us ever present symptoms, but its still a scary thought. If you ever do get cold sores, get 70% isopropyl alcohol and dab some onto the spots. According to the University of Michigan, this will make the herpes sores go away faster.
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How To Dry Out A Cold Sore Overnight
Cold sores stay on your body for a number of days. But when you have anything very important lined up, you can try these tips and dry out the cold sore overnight.
Apply ice cubes
Take an ice cube and hold it for a couple of minutes over the cold sore. Repeat this several times a day, and it will minimize itching and swelling and make the sore heal faster.
Dab Tea tree oil
Due to its antimicrobial properties, Tea tree oil can treat cold sores. Killing the viruses and bacteria speeds up the healing process.
Simply take a cotton swab, dip it in pure tea tree oil and dab it over the cold sore. Repeat the process several times a day.
Dab Rubbing Alcohol
If you have a cold sore around your mouth , you can also apply Rubbing Alcohol or witch hazel.
Both of these astringents arent chemically known for treating a cold sore, but they will definitely dry it out.
Hot water compress
Similarly, like a cold compress , a hot water compress helps in providing relief from cold sores. All you need to do is, take a clean towel, dip it in hot water and apply it over the cold sore. Repeat the process several times a day.
Note: All of the above remedies are for temporary relief only. Depending on individuals, they might work for one but not for the other. Also, remember using anything other than ice cubes, for example, Rubbing Alcohol, etc., can cause you pain and irritation.
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What Is Oral Herpes
Oral herpes, commonly referred to as cold sores or fever blisters, is caused by the herpes virus. Unfortunately, once youre infected, there is no cure for herpes. For most people, sores may unexpectedly reappear throughout their lives, although the rate at which oral herpes recurs is unpredictable and varies from person to person. Some people will have multiple outbreaks in one year, while others may only have one episode in their entire lives.
A typical outbreak consists of a number of blister-like, reddish sores that are grouped together and that can ooze a clear fluid. These sores generally develop around the mouth near or on the lips, or sometimes on the chin, on the cheeks or inside the nose. Warning signs of an outbreak include a tingling or burning feeling, after which the blisters start to appear. After several days, the blisters dry and form scabs or crusts, which then disappear after a few more days, with or without treatment. Once the sores have disappeared, the virus becomes dormant until it is reactivated.
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Steroid Medication For Shingles
Steroids help to reduce swelling . A short course of steroid tablets may be considered in addition to antiviral medication. This may help to reduce pain and speed healing of the rash. However, the use of steroids in shingles is controversial. Your doctor will advise you. Steroids do not prevent PHN.
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Does Alcohol Trigger Herpes
recurring cold sores if it is infected around the mouth during the initial infection. In spite of the fact that everyone is not sure why outbreaks occur, many scientists believe sunlight, physical illness, excess alcohol, and stress may be triggers. Usually they become less frequent as time goes on.
How Does It Occur
If you have had chickenpox, you are at risk for later developing shingles. After you recover from chickenpox, the chickenpox virus stays in your body. It moves to the roots of your nerve cells and becomes inactive . Later, if the virus becomes active again, shingles is the name given to the symptoms it causes.
What exactly causes the virus to become active is not known. A weakened immune system seems to allow reactivation of the virus. This may occur with normal aging, immune-suppressing medicines, or another illness, or after major surgery. It can also happen as a complication of cancer or AIDS or treatment of these illnesses. Chronic use of steroid drugs may trigger shingles. The virus may also become active again after the skin is injured or sunburned. Emotional stress seems to be a common trigger as well.
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Related Procedures For Shingles
You might lower the volume on your shingles pain with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation . This technique delivers low-level electrical pulses to nerve endings via electrodes on your skin. This stimulates production of endorphins, your bodys natural painkillers. If your pain is so severe that its affecting the quality of your life, consult your doctor about an epidural block, injections of local anesthetics or steroids into the membranes surrounding your nerves. In a 2000 study, more than 90% of those given such injections reported good to excellent pain control. Injections of antiviral drugs plus steroids are another effective option for difficult cases of shingles.
How To Use Alcohol On The Skin
There are two ways to use alcohol on the skin to kill viruses. The first is using alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel. People can use this by applying some gel to the palms and rubbing all over the hands, including between the fingers. Then, wait until it dries.
Doctors no longer recommend that people use rubbing alcohol to clean wounds, as it can further damage tissue. Instead, a person can rinse the wound under running tap water for 510 minutes before soaking a gauze pad in saline solution or tap water and gently dabbing or wiping the skin with it. Alternatively, they can use an alcohol-free wipe.
While alcohol gels and sterilizing products effectively kill a number of potentially harmful microbes, they have some disadvantages.
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Natural Ways To Treat Shingles
If you have a case of the shingles, read on to find out what you can do to treat the pain.
1. Soothe Your Skin To promote healing , add a few drops of rose, lavender, bergamot or tea tree oil to your warm bath. Mix them in a carrier oil, such as vegetable oil first.
2. Numb the Pain Calendula lotion or ointment applied to blisters several times a day eases pain. Or apply a paste made of two crushed aspirin tablets and two tablespoons rubbing alcohol three times a day to soothe throbbing nerve endings.
3. Visit the Pharmacist for Help Ask your pharmacist to prepare a mixture with 75 per cent calamine, 20 per cent rubbing alcohol, and one per cent each phenol and menthol. You may want to call ahead so the pharmacy can ensure to have these ingredients in stock. Apply to blisters continuously until youre healed. Other itching remedies include vitamin E oil or aloe vera gel.
4. Apply Cold Packs Apply ice packs for 10 minutes at a time to affected areas. Keep them off for at least five minutes between applications.
5. Try a Compress Compresses containing aluminium acetate solution, available over the counter in pharmacies, can help relieve the itching.
6. Avoid Irritating Blisters To keep your clothes from rubbing against your blisters, dust yourself with colloidal oatmeal powder.
7. Try a Natural Method Applying a cream containing capsaicin three or four times a day has reduced pain for many sufferers after a couple of weeks of use.
How To Treat Shingles
This article was co-authored by Lydia Shedlofsky, DO. Dr. Lydia Shedlofsky is a Resident Dermatologist who joined Affiliated Dermatology in July of 2019 after completing a traditional rotating internship at Larkin Community Hospital in Miami, Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. After graduation, she moved to Beira, Mozambique, and worked as a research assistant and intern at a free clinic. She completed a Post-Baccalaureate program and subsequently earned a Master’s Degree in Medical Education and a Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 16 testimonials and 100% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 611,298 times.
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a distressing skin rash caused by the varicella zoster virus . This is the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person has had chickenpox, VZV stays in the body. Usually the virus causes no problems. However, now and again the virus reappears, causing nasty blisters called shingles. The following article will describe the treatments for shingles.
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What If I Have Shingles And A Poor Immune System
If you have a poor immune system and develop shingles then see your doctor straightaway. You will normally be given antiviral medication whatever your age and will be monitored for complications. People with a poor immune system include:
- People taking high-dose steroids. per day for more than one week in the previous three months. Or, children who have taken steroids within the previous three months, equivalent to prednisolone 2 mg/kg per day for at least one week, or 1 mg/kg per day for one month.)
- People on lower doses of steroids in combination with other immunosuppressant medicines.
- People taking anti-arthritis medications which can affect the bone marrow.
- People being treated with chemotherapy or generalised radiotherapy, or who have had these treatments within the previous six months.
- People who have had an organ transplant and are on immunosuppressive treatment.
- People who have had a bone marrow transplant and who are still immunosuppressed.
- People with an impaired immune system.
- People who are immunosuppressed with HIV infection.
How To Get Rid Of A Cold Sore Fast
Cold sores, also called fever blisters, are painful blisters that can develop on or around the lips. These sores are common and will go away on their own, but if you have a major event coming up like a wedding or an important job interview you might be wondering how to get rid of a cold sore fast.
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What Problems Can Happen
Most cases of shingles heal on their own, with or without treatment, and wont lead to any other problems. In rare cases, shingles can lead to complications, including:
- Ongoing pain : Damaged nerve fibers in the skin send confused messages to the brain, leading to pain. Pain can go on for a long time after the shingles rash is gone. This is the most common shingles complication.
- Vision problems: Shingles near or in an eye can lead to vision loss.
- Skin infections: A shingles rash can become infected with bacteria, leading to impetigo or cellulitis.
- Nervous system problems: Shingles on the face can involve different nerves that connect to the brain. This can lead to nerve-related problems such as facial paralysis, hearing problems, and problems with balance. In very rare cases, shingles can lead to encephalitis .
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Alleviating Nausea After A Medical Procedure
A 2018 review investigated the use of different aromatherapy ingredients for the treatment of nausea and vomiting following surgery. Rubbing alcohol was one of several aromatherapy ingredients that the researchers tested.
They found that inhaling rubbing alcohol vapor rapidly alleviated nausea and reduced the need for antinausea drugs following surgery. However, they noted that the studies that the review included were of low-to-medium quality. As such, further studies are necessary to confirm the findings.
A person should talk to their doctor before inhaling rubbing alcohol vapor to alleviate nausea. Inhaling too much vapor can cause serious side effects in both children and adults.
A person should not use rubbing alcohol for the following purposes:
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Caring For Pierced Ears
According to the American Academy of Dermatology , people can use rubbing alcohol to help clean the skin around new ear piercings. To do this, a person should dip a cotton ball or pad into the rubbing alcohol. They should then gently wipe it around the piercing on the front and back of the ear.
People should clean the piercing twice a day to help prevent bacterial infections and scabbing.
It is important to note that some experts disagree with this advice, recommending that people avoid using rubbing alcohol because it might slow the healing process.
Rubbing alcohol can help kill odor-causing bacteria. A person can apply rubbing alcohol under the armpits to help eliminate body odors.
However, they should avoid applying rubbing alcohol soon after shaving, as this will cause stinging.