Heres The Latest Coverage On The Brutal Killings Of Four College Friends:
Both surviving roommates were quickly ruled out as suspects and cooperated with the investigation following the gory murders, police repeatedly said.
The two broke their silence by sharing their memories of the four beautiful people in letters read at a memorial service in early December.
Maddie, Xana, Kaylee and Ethan were all one of a kind, the pastor at Real Life Ministries read aloud from the letters written by the two survivors.
To Xana and Ethan: they were the perfect pair together and had this unstoppable relationship, Mortensen wrote. My people who changed my life in so many ways and made me so happy. I know it will be hard to not have the four of them in our lives, but I know Xana, Ethan, Maddie and Kaylee would want us to live life and be happy and they would want us to celebrate their lives.
Funke wrote that the four slain students were all gifts to this world in your own special way and it just wont be the same without you.
The victims accused killer was arrested on Dec. 30 at his parents home in Monroe County, PA during an early morning SWAT team raid. Kohberger quickly waived his right to an extradition hearing and arrived in Idaho via plane on Wednesday evening.
He appeared in Idaho court for the first time Thursday, which allowed police to release the affidavit, per Idaho state law. He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
A Timeline Of How The University Of Idaho Murders Unfolded
A roommate who survived the University of Idaho murders came face-to-face with the killer just moments after the bloody slaughter of her friends as they slept in their beds, according to a police report.
Dylan Mortensen, 21, described her creepy encounter with the black-clad figure, when she opened her bedroom door after hearing a noise a little after 4 a.m.
A police affidavit reads: saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the persons mouth and nose walking towards her.
Mortensen described the figure as 5 10 or taller, male, not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows. The male walked past as she stood in a frozen shock phase.
The male walked towards the back sliding glass door. Mortensen locked herself in her room after seeing the male.
Moments earlier, the mysterious murderer had knifed Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, to death in their Moscow, Idaho home. Another roommate, Bethany Funke, 21, was unharmed in the attack.
Although Mortensens encounter happened around 4 a.m., it is not explained why police were not called until around midday almost eight hours later.
The affidavit also explains how police linked the slayings to PhD student in Criminal Justice Bryan Kohberger, who lived in Pullman, Wash., the next town over, and whos DNA was found at the scene. He appeared in an Idaho court Thursday to be charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
How Do You Prevent Eye Shingles
The Food and Drug Administration has approved Shingrix, a newer, more effective shingles vaccine.9
According to the CDC, the vaccine is about 90% effective at preventing shingles and lowering the risk of severe illness.
Shingrix is recommended for adults aged 50 years or older and younger adults with a weak immune system.
You can prevent shingles infection from spreading by:
- Staying away from older adults, pregnant women, and anyone who is immunocompromised
- Not scratching or touching the rash, as this may escalate the infection
- Covering the rash to avoid shedding
- Cleaning your hands after touching the affected area
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Measles Rash Looks Like Flat Red Spots
Like the shingles rash and herpes simplex, measles is caused by a virus. Measles is highly contagious. Symptoms of measles typically begin with a high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes, according to the CDC. Three to five days later, a rash that looks like flat red spots appears, normally starting on the face at the hairline and spreading down the body to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. Measles is a very serious disease that can lead to complications and death fortunately, it can be prevented with a measles vaccine.
What Are The Complications Of Shingles
After the shingles rash has disappeared, you might continue to have nerve pain in that same area. Postherpetic neuralgia can last for months or years and become quite severe.
More than 10% of people who get shingles develop postherpetic neuralgia. Researchers dont know why some people get postherpetic neuralgia and others dont. It may be that nerves become more sensitive or that the virus may be invading and damaging the central nervous system.
Other complications include:
- Other types of nerve issues like numbness or itching.
- A bacterial infection of the shingles rash.
- Eye and ear inflammation if the rash is near these organs.
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Can You Get Shingles If You Havent Had Chickenpox
No. You cant get shingles if youve never had chickenpox, but you can get chickenpox from someone who has shingles. If youve never had chickenpox and you come into direct contact with the oozing, blister-like rash of someone with shingles, the varicella-zoster virus can infect you and you would develop chickenpox.
Once youve had chickenpox, you could develop shingles at some point in your life. This is because the varicella-zoster virus never fully goes away after youve had chickenpox. It lies quietly inactive in your nerve tissue. Later in life, the virus may become active again and appears as shingles.
Can you get chickenpox more than once?
Its rare to get chickenpox twice in your life. Once youve had chickenpox, youre usually immune to it for the rest of your life. However, its not totally impossible. If you have a severely weakened immune system , you can get chickenpox a second time. If youve had chickenpox, you are more likely to get shingles at some point in your life than a repeat bout of chickenpox.
What Should You Expect If You Get Shingles
Shingles can be a very painful condition. If you think you have the symptoms of shingles, see your healthcare provider right away. Starting antiviral medications early can ease your discomfort and end symptoms earlier.
A better approach to shingles is to take action and do what you can to lessen your risk of getting it. If you’ve never had shingles in the past, talk to your healthcare provider about getting the shingles vaccine. If youve never had chickenpox, talk with your healthcare provider about getting the chickenpox vaccine.
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What Vaccines Can Help Prevent Shingles
There is currently one vaccine available in the U.S. to prevent shingles. Shingrix was approved in 2017 and it is more than 90% effective in preventing shingles. With Shingrix, you get two shots between 2 and 6 months apart and protection lasts an estimated 4-5 years. Doctors recommend it for healthy people over 50 as well as those 19 years of age and older who are or will be immunodeficient or immunosuppressed due to disease or therapy..
An earlier vaccine called Zostavax was removed from the market in 2020. That vaccine used a weak form of the chickenpox virus to send your bodyâs immune system into action to fight the disease. Shingrix does not. If you received the Zostavax vaccine, it is recommended that you also receive Shingrix.
Balanced Diet And Hydration
Eating the right combinations of food is one great way to boost your immune system. Taking a balanced diet makes your body strong enough to fight shingles in the eye and the time taken before total healing is reduced.
You should also take sufficient amounts of water to make it easy for your body to drive out toxic substances. This enables your bodys immune system to naturally fight shingles.
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Who Should Be Vaccinated With Shingrix
The Shingrix vaccine is recommended for those 50 years of age and older who are in good health.
You should get the Shingrix vaccine even if:
- Youve had shingles already.
- Youve been previously vaccinated with Zostavax . If youve been vaccinated with Zostavax, wait at least eight weeks before getting vaccinated with Shingrix.
- You dont know for sure if youve ever had chickenpox.
Ask your healthcare provider, who knows your entire health history if getting this vaccine is right for you.
How Shingles Can Get Into The Eyes
After the symptoms of chickenpox have cleared up, the virus lies dormant in the body. More specifically, the virus remains in the nerves. At any time, the virus can reactivate and cause shingles to develop.
When the virus reactivates in a nerve called the trigeminal nerve, it can cause shingles of the eye. The trigeminal nerve carries signals between the brain and several areas of the face, including the eye.
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What You Should Know About Shingles
You may not remember having the itchy, painful welts caused by chickenpox. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , 99.5 percent of people born before 1980 were infected at one point or another. Anyone who has been infected is at risk for shingles.
When chickenpox infections fade, the virus that caused them does not. Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus , and its a member of the herpes family. Like most herpes-based illnesses, VZV never really goes away. Instead, it lies dormant within your body.
VZV rests within your nerves, and during a shingles outbreak, the virus triggers inflammation and pain along a nerve band. The CDC says one in three people will get shingles. Most have just one outbreak, but some have repeated problems.
Mayo Clinic says shingles can cause more than pain. The condition can also cause:
- Persistent fatigue.
- Sensitivity to light.
Typically, people with shingles will experience blisters along just one small area that wraps around the torso. But any part of the body served by nerves can get hit with shingles. Symptoms last for about two weeks before fading away.
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What Is The Outlook
If you have a particularly severe case of shingles, it could take months to go away. It can also become a long-term problem for some people. If you have postherpetic neuralgia, you may need to see your doctor more often.
Complications that involve the eye or ear may require ongoing care, especially if you have lingering vision or hearing problems.
Most people have shingles only once, but it can recur. This is more likely to happen if you have a weakened immune system.
If you havent had any major complications, your symptoms should clear up within a matter of weeks with few, if any, lasting effects.
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What Causes Shingles In The Eye
The varicella-zoster virus, the virus that causes chickenpox, lives in the nerves of people who have previously had chickenpox. It becomes herpes zoster ophthalmicus when it reaches the eye, and it can cause severe pain along with the notorious rash that accompanies shingles on other areas of the body.
The shingles virus does not always activate in people who have had chickenpox. When it does, the shingles rash most often appears along the back, ribs, and chest areas. Occasionally, it will show up in other areas, like the face or legs.
According to experts, the resulting weakened immune systems and stress have caused increased shingles cases, tripling them from 2004 to 2016. You cannot predict whether you will have eye shingles since the virus can travel over your body and appear in different areas.
Is Shingles Contagious
Yes, but not in the way you may think. Your shingles rash will not trigger an outbreak of shingles in another person, but it can sometimes cause chickenpox in a child. People who’ve never had chickenpox, or the vaccine to prevent it, can pick up the virus by direct contact with the open sores of shingles. So keep a shingles rash covered and avoid contact with infants, as well as pregnant women who have never had chickenpox or the varicella vaccine and people who may have weak immune systems such as chemotherapy patients.
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Early & Late Symptoms
The symptoms in the early stages of shingles in the eye include
- Tingling, or stabbing pain
- You are also likely to have itchiness on the skin around your eyes
- Burning sensation around your eyes also results from itchiness
- For children or teenagers, fever is also a common sign
- You are also likely to have extra light sensitivity
Late symptoms include the following
- An itchy rash around the eye and on your forehead
- Painful blisters on the eye lids
- Eye lid may be paralyzed
- Numbness of the skin on the forehead
- Frequent Tearing and Watering of the eyes
- On rare occasion, you may have blurry vision
- Irritation and swelling of the eyelids
If you have blurred vision after treating shingles, it is advisable that you see your doctor. There is a possibility that there is an underlying condition which causes the blurry vision. The blisters that form around your eyes may change the color to yellow.
As mentioned above, blisters are one of the symptoms of shingles in the eye. At a later stage, these blisters may begin to ooze. This may lead to formation of scabs around the eye.
How Long Does Shingles On The Face Last
According to the National Institute on Aging , many cases of shingles take 35 weeks to heal.
A rash may develop around 48 hours after experiencing initial skin sensations or a general feeling of being ill . Rash and blisters then appear and can take around 2-4 weeks to clear.
If you experience a chronic infection, you may have recurrent pain and other symptoms, such as paresthesias, lasting more than 4 weeks. This could last months to years.
However, the outlook and recovery time will vary according to the person and their condition.
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How Can I Take Care Of Myself
- Take a pain-relief medicine such as acetaminophen. Take other medicine as prescribed by your healthcare provider.
- Put cool, moist washcloths on the rash.
- Rest in bed during the early stages if you have fever and other symptoms.
- Try not to let clothing or bed linens rub against the rash and irritate it.
- You develop worsening pain or fever.
- You develop a severe headache, stiff neck, hearing loss, or changes in your ability to think.
- The blisters show signs of bacterial infection, such as increasing pain or redness, or milky yellow drainage from the blister sites.
- The blisters are close to the eyes or you have pain in your eyes or trouble seeing.
- You have trouble walking.
Triggers Of Shingles In The Eye
Below is a brief summary of the common triggers of shingles in the eye
Age
As you continue to grow older, your immune system continues to become weaker. If you have varicella zoster from shingles in the past, your chances of getting shingles increases as you advance in age.
Old people need to be very well taken care of so that there immune system stays strong enough for shingles not to erupt.
Viral diseases
Another trigger for shingles is viral diseases such as HIV/AIDS. When you have a viral disease, your immune system is totally weakened and you are likely to get shingles. The shingles in the eye in such a case will always come back following treatment.
Stress
Stress increases the chances of getting shingles although indirectly. When you are stressed, your appetite levels drop greatly. This will definitely result to a weakened immune system since you are likely to skip your meals.
Strong medication
There are some medications that are too strong for your immune system to totally handle them. Such medications make you vulnerable to attacks such as those by shingles.
For that reason, if you are taking very strong medications that are probably making it difficult for you to eat you should be monitored closely by your doctor.
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Do You Need To Stay Away From Children People Who Are Pregnant Have Cancer Or Anyone With A Weak Immune System After You Get The Zostavax Vaccine
According to the CDC, its safe to be around babies and young children, pregnant women or anyone with a weakened immune system after you get the Zostavax vaccine. Even though the Zostavax vaccine contains a weakened live varicella-zoster virus, the CDC says theres no documented case of a person getting chickenpox from someone who has received the Zostavax vaccine. And remember: You cant get shingles unless youve already had chickenpox.
How Eye Shingles Are Treated
You do not have to endure shingles. With the help of your doctor, you can overcome the discomfort and help the outbreak to heal. You can also take some steps to reduce the frequency and severity of your outbreaks.
The key is to get help within three days of the start of an outbreak. That is the moment at which your immune system is still strong but could use a little boost. Antiviral medications can tamp down the virus and send it back to the nerve root, so you will feel a bit more comfortable.
You will still be at risk for future outbreaks, as shingles cant be cured. But the treatment can keep the excruciating pain and damage at bay.
Your doctor may ask you to spend a few days in the hospital. You will get around-the-clock care for your outbreak, and your doctor can watch the infection carefully and step in if sight-stealing complications appear.
When you are released to your home, there are plenty of things you can do to ease your discomfort. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends:
- Cool compresses. A moist, damp towel placed over your closed eyes can relieve some of your pain.
- Painkillers. If your doctor agrees, you can use medications like aspirin to ease distress.
- Eye drops. Your doctor may suggest soothing drops to help your tissues knit back together.
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