What is shingles? How to treat shingles

Shingles is a very common skin disease among people. After suffering from shingles, most people do not have a special understanding of the disease. So, what is shingles?

What is shingles?

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. The rash is generally unilateral and distributed according to nerve segments, composed of clustered herpes and accompanied by pain; the older the age, the more severe the neuralgia. This disease is more common in adults and is more common in spring and autumn. The incidence rate increases significantly with age.

Treatment for shingles:

1. Drug therapy

(1) Antiviral drugs can be selected from acyclovir, valacyclovir or famciclovir.

(2) Drug treatment for neuralgia: ① The main antidepressants include paroxetine (Ceroxetine), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxil, sertraline, etc.; ② Anticonvulsants include carbamazepine, sodium valproate, etc. ③Narcotic analgesics include analgesics represented by morphine. The available drugs include morphine (MSContin), hydroxymorphone (OxyContin), oxycodone, fentanyl (Durogesic), dihydroetofen, and Lugaix. ④Non-narcotic analgesics include NSAIDs, tramadol, aconite, capsaicin, etc.

2. Nerve Block

When severe pain is difficult to control with medication, direct and effective sensory nerve block therapy should be considered. The choice of block location should depend on the extent of the disease and its response to treatment. The general principle should be from shallow to deep, from simple to complex, from peripheral to nerve trunks and nerve roots.

3. Nerve damage

Radiofrequency temperature-controlled thermocoagulation for nerve destruction is the most direct and effective treatment method. Neurodestructive treatment also includes medial thalamic stereotactic radiotherapy (Gamma Knife or X-Knife), surgical subdural spinal cord dorsal root destruction, pituitary destruction, sympathetic trunk ganglion destruction, etc.