What Do You Take If You Have Shingles

Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should wait to get shingrix.

What do you take if you have shingles. Keep the affected area clean dry and exposed to air as much as possible. Avoid warm or hot water while you have shingles. Information about your medical problems past and present. Shingles herpes zoster is a painful rash common in adults over age 50.

After you have had chickenpox the varicella zoster virus lies dormant inactive inside your body it can become reactivated at a later stage and cause shingles. Some people develop complications after shingles including nerve pain called post herpetic neuropathy. You may want to write a list that includes. Apply cool compresses to the lesions or take a cool bath twice a day to relieve the burning or tingling sensation.

Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another but the varicella zoster virus that causes shingles also causes chickenpox and the virus can spread and cause chickenpox in a person who has not had chickenpox before or not received the chickenpox vaccine. Your symptoms and test results will show whether you have shingles. Though the vaccine doesn t guarantee you won t get chickenpox or shingles it can reduce your chances of complications and reduce the severity of the disease. There aren t home remedies for shingles.

A detailed description of your symptoms. Shingles recovery tends to follow a pattern and may take anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks or more. Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus which is the virus that causes chickenpox. What you can do.

You might need to have a second test if the results aren t clear. Warmth can cause further itching and skin irritation. Find out what the recovery stages of shingles are and how you can help minimize the symptoms. Some people have such mild symptoms of shingles that they don t seek medical treatment.

Wash the blisters gently and avoid touching or scratching the infected area. People looking to receive the shingles vaccine have two options. At the other extreme severe symptoms may result in a visit to the emergency room. But if you have a moderate or severe acute illness you should usually wait until you recover before getting the vaccine.

The vaccine is also recommended for adults who ve never had chickenpox. But there are things you can do to help your skin heal. If you have a minor acute starts suddenly illness such as a cold you may get shingrix.