How to treat recurrent shingles?

Shingles is caused by a viral infection. Generally speaking, the disease occurs when a person's immunity is relatively low, such as when people are in a bad mood, when people have no appetite, etc. The virus has an incubation period and will lurk inside the human body. When shingles occurs, everyone should go to the hospital for timely treatment. However, some patients say that they have been cured, but they did not expect the disease to recur. How should they be treated then? Is it incurable?

It is mainly used to relieve pain and prevent secondary bacterial infection. Use 1% camphor, 5% sulfur calamine lotion, 0.5% neomycin ointment plus powder for external use, and inject vitamin B12. If the eyes are affected, you can use herpes eye ointment. If necessary, transfer factor or immunoglobulin can be injected. In addition, the factors that induce herpes zoster should be identified and treated.

Shingles occurs most frequently in spring and autumn, and is more common in adults. Before the onset of the disease, the local skin often experiences sensory hypersensitivity or neuralgia, accompanied by prodromal symptoms such as mild fever, general discomfort, and loss of appetite. The disease may also occur suddenly without any prodromal symptoms. The affected area first develops erythema, followed by the appearance of numerous clustered papules ranging in size from millet to mung bean, which quickly turn into blisters. The blisters are transparent and clear, with tight and shiny blister walls and a red halo around the blisters. Several groups of blisters are often arranged in bands along the cutaneous nerves, with normal skin between each group of blisters. After more than 10 days, the blisters are absorbed, dried up and scabs form. After healing, only temporary light red spots or pigmentation will remain, but no scars. It may also cause erosion due to rupture of the blister membrane, or even necrosis or secondary suppurative infection. The whole course of the disease is about 2 to 3 weeks.

Because herpes zoster develops rapidly, the pain is severe, and new rashes continue to appear at the beginning of the disease. In a few severe cases, herpes zoster meningoencephalitis and gastrointestinal or urinary tract herpes zoster may occur.

The specific process is as follows: After the virus infects the human body for the first time, it proliferates rapidly in the body, forming viremia, spreading throughout the body, and causing chickenpox. After chickenpox is recovered, the virus can remain dormant in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord or the sensory ganglia of the cranial nerves. In adulthood, due to the decline of the body's immunity and the stimulation of physical and chemical factors, the latent virus is activated, causing inflammation and necrosis of the affected ganglia, resulting in neuralgia. At the same time, the reactivated virus can proliferate along the nerve axons to the skin cells it controls, causing a string of zoster-like blisters to appear in the skin area controlled by this ganglion, hence the name herpes zoster.

When shingles is cured, it will not recur. If it recurs, there may be other reasons in the body. The patient must strengthen his resistance so that the virus will not take advantage of the opportunity to invade. Also, drink more water and eat some high-protein foods. The purpose of treating this disease is to relieve pain and reduce the occurrence of some complications. Don't take medicine blindly, and be sure to go to a large hospital for treatment.