- Severe pain that lasts for months even when the typical rashes have resolved.
- Loss of vision when the shingles rash occurs around the eyes
- Difficulty hearing
One complication that arises from less than 4 percent of shingles cases is known as post-herpetic neuralgia or PHN. Neuralgia refers to a type of pain that occurs when a nerve gets damage. In the case of PHN, it’s because of the shingles outbreak. This can cause very intense pain, and touching cloth or even the softest breeze can trigger this.
It can sometimes last for months or years, or be permanently (this is extremely rare). Sometimes, PHN is so debilitating that a person finds it almost impossible to complete daily activities and tasks.
What are the causes of a shingles outbreak?
While we do know that the herpes zoster virus causes shingles, we don’t know for sure what causes its reactivation in the body. However, researchers believe that the following might have something to do with it. These may be causes of a shingles outbreak:
- As you grow older, your risk increases because your body has a harder time fighting infections.
- Conditions that weaken the immune system, such as HIV, cancer, and cancer treatments.
- Stress is also believed to be one of the causes of a shingles outbreak.
Transmission
Only people who have previously gotten chickenpox and recovered may develop shingles. While a person cannot get shingles from someone else with shingles, the virus can spread from a person with shingles, to someone who has never had chickenpox, or has not been vaccinated against chickenpox. The person who was exposed may then develop chickenpox, but not shingles.
The virus may spread when fluid from an infected person’s blisters comes into contact with another person. In some cases, the virus may also mix into the air and be inhaled by someone else.
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