Shingles in the Eye Treatment
Varicella zoster is also sometimes called the “chickenpox virus.” Once a person has the pox, a little bit of the viral coding is saved in the spinal cord and reactivates decades later when the immune system has been weakened through illness, chemotherapy, old age or other circumstances. Once it’s reawakened, the virus travels horizontally across the body, down nerve pathways, and in a belt-like formation around one side of the abdomen, chest or eye. It’s especially important to get treatment of shingles, especially if the eye has been affected.
Of the estimated 1 million Americans who are diagnosed with shingles each year, about 20% will suffer from shingles of the eye, says the National Institutes of Health and the Mayo Clinic. The condition generally only affects one eye, since the varicella zoster virus travels down nerve pathways on one side of the body only. Prompt treatment of shingles is crucial no matter where the rash appears, but researchers have found that waiting just one day can mean the difference between blindness and recovery. The antiviral medication prescribed by doctors is essential to reducing the risk of serious side effects, in addition to relieving painful symptoms.
The shingles varicella zoster virus sometimes starts with a week of headaches or a strange pain on one side of the face. Fatigue and mild fever often accompany the virus. The skin around the eye becomes tender and a chickenpox-like rash develops. One small lesion or cluster of red spots might appear on the tip of the nose or beneath the eye next. Sometimes sufferers wake up with an eye swelled shut. This rash causes intense itching, eye watering, impaired vision and eye swelling that can be almost unbearable. After a week or so, the blisters usually dry up and fade but there can be long-lasting symptoms if treatment of shingles is not done promptly and effectively.
The treatment of shingles is not very invasive, usually. If caught early (within the first 72 hours of the rash appearance), doctors will prescribe an antiviral medication, like acyclovir or famvir that weakens the virus and reduces the risk of developing serious side effects, like post-herpetic neuralgia, incessant pain or glaucoma and blindness. Prescription eye drops and topical creams help to reduce itchiness and pain both in and around the eye. For seriously inflamed eyes, steroids may be prescribed to reduce the swelling and allow the eye to heal naturally.
Kenny Leichester is a foremost expert in the interior design industry specializing in the outdoor or patio settings using outdoor heaters, patio umbrellas, outdoor cushions, patio lighting and so on to create exquisitely beautiful layout. His work on patio umbrellas are widely distributed and is a regular contributor to PatioShoppers.com.