Which department should I visit for shingles? Why is it so difficult to treat?

Shingles is an acute skin infection. This disease will have obvious symptoms when it occurs. If it is cured, the chance of recurrence is very small. Don't worry because the infectious rate of this disease is very low. So which department should you go to for shingles?

Which department should I go to for herpes zoster?

Herpes zoster is an acute infectious skin disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Children who are not immune to the virus develop chickenpox when infected. Some patients become carriers of the virus after being infected but do not develop symptoms. Because the virus is neurotropic, it can remain dormant in the neurons of the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord for a long time after infection. When the resistance is low or when you are tired, infected, or have a cold, the virus can grow and multiply again and move along the nerve fibers to the skin, causing severe inflammation of the invaded nerves and skin.

Therefore, shingles is a common skin disease, so once you have this disease, you should go to the dermatology department for treatment. Shingles can cause some nerve pain, especially in elderly patients, the pain will last for a long time. This is postherpetic neuralgia. You need to go to the pain department for diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible. The earlier the intervention treatment, the more certain the effect. The longer the delay, the more difficult it is to control.

Why is shingles so difficult to treat?

1. The main cause of postherpetic neuralgia is nerve damage, and it takes time to repair it. Since the treatment of this disease is long, patients may lose patience and give up halfway.

2. Most of these patients are elderly, frail, and sick, and some are even bedridden. It is not easy to improve their immunity.

3. Patients with postherpetic neuralgia for more than four months often suffer from depression and even lose confidence in life due to lack of access to medical treatment. They do not believe in any treatment, which makes it more difficult to cure the disease.

4. Patients with allergic constitution cannot take long-term oral or topical treatments.