Same virus causes chickenpox, shingles

Press, 4 December 1985, Page 14

Same virus causes chickenpox, shingles

From the College of General Practitioners It may seem strange that we deal in one column with two seemingly quite different diseases, and ones that commonly affect people at either end of life — for chickenpox usually causes illness in the young and shingles hits the old. Both are caused by the same virus, the herpes zoster virus. This is not herpes simplex, the cause of cold sores and genital herpes, but is a close relative. Chickenpox is a mild but veiy contagious disease, which shows up as fever and abdominal pain, associated with a general feeling of malaise, or ill-health. Then the characteristic rash appears: raised painful little red blisters, almost anywhere on the body, much like widespread fleabites. They appear in the hair, the mouth, throat, nose, penis, vagina — anywhere. The sufferer is miserable, irritable, Ul. Usually chickenpox runs an uncomplicated course, the long-term sequel of uncomplicated chickenpox is scarring if a particularly large spot occurs. Antibiotics are of no use, because the disease is viral, and indeed treatment is aimed at relief of symptoms rather than reducing the severity or shortening the duration of the illness.

Anyone with chickenpox is infectious. The contagious period begins with the onset of the illness and continues until the spots stop appearing, dry up, and the scabs separate. A contact will get the disease after a twoweek symptomless incuba-

tion period. You cannot be protected after contact Keep a child in oed if new sores are appearing. Keep children at home until the scabs separate. Follow a normal diet, wash the child with ordinary soap and water. Calomine lotion may be useful to dry out very moist spots, and to relieve itching, and can be applied as often as needed. Painful sores in the mouth may be helped by strong tea with a little sugar used as a mouth wash. Call your family doctor if sores appear in an eye, if the temperature rises above 39deg. Celsius, if severe headache is not relieved by aspirin, if fits occur, or if spots grow and produce pus. Shingles is caused by the same virus which has lain dormant ip the spinal cord of the patient ever since an attack of chickenpox. The skin rash appears as crops of blisters along one nerve root, so the shingles usually appears on only one side of the body in a narrow band. The condition is most common after the age of 50, but can occur at any age, and there seems to be a general impression among doctors that it is now seen more often in younger people than it was. Perfectly healthy people may, contract shingles, but those with underlying physical or emotional disorders cer-

tainly are more prone. Few have more than one attack, as an attack usually protects against further trouble. , s . Most patients are left with only scarring six weeks after the onset of an attack, although some go on to have really troublesome and disabling pain in the area affected - the socalled post-herpetic neural-

81 What can you do? Avoid chill draughts, wash the affected area as little as eble, apply a little(local via a hot-water bottle, use some calomine lotion. Various treatments have been advocated over the years to shorten the attack, reduce the severity of the attack, or reduce the likelihood of post-herpetic neuralgia. These include acupuncture, painting the blisters with antiviral substances, taking steroids, vitamin 812 injections, and most recently a drug usually used for stomach ulcers, cimetidine. None of them is of proven reliability, though each may have some effect.

DOCTOR’S ADVICE