What causes herpes zoster?

Shingles is a more serious skin condition also known as shingles. Shingles is contagious to a certain extent. In addition, patients with shingles also have to endure great pain and discomfort. In severe cases, it may even affect other functions of the body. Therefore, once shingles occurs, it must be diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. So, what are the causes of shingles?

Varicella-zoster virus infection (35%):

The disease is caused by varicella-zoster virus. The virus enters the human body through the respiratory mucosa, spreads through the blood, and causes chickenpox on the skin. However, most people do not develop chickenpox after infection. This is a latent infection and they become carriers of the virus. The virus is neurotropic, and after invading the sensory nerve endings of the skin, it can move along the nerves to the ganglia of the posterior roots of the spinal cord and lurk there. When the host's cellular immune function is low, such as when suffering from a cold, fever, systemic lupus erythematosus, and malignant tumors, the virus is stimulated again, causing inflammation and necrosis of the ganglia. At the same time, the reactivated virus can move along the peripheral nerve fibers to the skin to cause herpes. In rare cases, the herpes virus can spread to the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord and visceral nerve fibers, causing motor nerve paralysis, such as eye and facial nerve paralysis, as well as gastrointestinal and urinary tract symptoms.

VZV infection (25%):

VZV is a herpes virus and a neurotropic virus. The complete VZV is spherical, with a diameter of about 150 to 200 nm. The nucleic acid is double-stranded DNA, composed of a regular icosahedral nucleocapsid, and the outer layer is formed by a loose lipoprotein envelope with virus-encoded glycoproteins scattered around. Only the outer shell of the virus particles is contagious. Varicella and herpes zoster are two different diseases clinically but are caused by the same virus. After primary VZV infection, about 70% of children show clinical symptoms of varicella, and about 30% are latently infected. Both are carriers of the virus.

Pathological changes (25%):

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