Shingles

What is Shingles

Shingles is an infection of a dermatomal or cranial nerve by the herpes varicella zoster virus. The virus establishes a latent infection in the nerve and may become active at times of stress or a compromise of the immune system.

The pain usually begins during the early viral symptoms and can last up to 3 weeks before red raised blisters break out on the skin along the affected dermatomal nerve. Shingles treatments in amgtherapy are very successful using Frequency specific microcurrent. For shingles treatments.

What Causes Shingles

Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus which is the same virus which develops chicken pox. Anyone who has had a bout of chicken pox may get shingles. The varicella zoster virus can lie dormant in the body for years controlled by a healthy immune system. On reactivation the varicella zoster virus produces shingles along one or a number of nerve paths shown in the diagram bellow.

The virus may not necessarily travel the full length of the affected nerve. The cause of the reemergence of the virus is not truly known but it is thought to be due to a weakened immune system, as the shingles is more often found in the aging population and with people with lowered immune systems. If you are suffering from pain where you used to have shingles it may be caused by post herpetic neuralgia.

Is Shingles Contagious

Shingles is contagious to a small number of people who have never had the chicken pox and shingles is contagious only if there is direct contact made to the open blisters in the early stages of development.

When someone is affected by the shingles they will experience tingling sensations and pain along the affected area, they will then develop blisters in that area as the acute phase of shingles begins. It is at this stage as the blisters ooze the virus that it is contagious. The formation of the blisters may last for 5-7 days and the person with shingles will be contagious until all the blisters have crusted over.

However if someone is susceptible to the shingles being contagious and has been in contact with the virus in the active stage they will experience an outbreak of chicken pox and not the shingles ( as the shingles is developed from a dormant varicella zoster virus from a bout of the chicken pox). It is then possible that the now active chicken pox will become dormant and may lead to shingles at a later stage.

Chicken pox can be dangerous to some groups of people, and the affected person should avoid contact with anyone who is pregnant, newborns and anyone with a weakened immune system during the shingles contagious stage.

To make an appointment please contact us at amgtherapy today.

Shingles Treatment & Post Herpetic Neuralgia

In amgtherapys Physical therapy clinic in Letterkenny the use of Frequency Specific Microcurrent enables Aiden to provide a treatment that will reduce the pain of the shingles withing the treatment. With most cases the client will arrive scoring themselves on a scale of 8-9/10 (10 being the worst pain imaginable) and leave scoring themselves 1-3/10. If the client is in the acute phase of the shingles and has the blisters active they will have a more dramatic reduction in pain. The patient needs to be well hydrated and the specific frequencies will be able to allow the blisters to scab over in 2-3 days rather than the normal 3-6 weeks.

If the client is suffering from Post herpetic neuralgia, they will normally need 3-6 sessions and the pain will reduce during the treatment but will return at some stage after the treatment, this is not something for the client to be concerned about as after each session the length of time with no pain will increase until it no longer returns. This is determined by the length it has been since the original shingles virus and by the duration the client has been suffering from Post herpetic neuralgia. The final stage of the Post herpetic neuralgia treatment is some treatment direct into the muscle tissue to allow normal functionality to return.To make an appointment or for further information contact amgtherapy today.

What is Post Herpetic Neuralgia

Post Herpetic Neuralgia is a constant pain that can occur after having a shingles infection and the risk of this occurring is increased with age. The pain may appear up to a year after the initial shingles virus and the patient struggles to connect that the pain is due to the shingles virus. The pain will travel along the same dermatomal path as the shingles appeared and can be described as a severe, burning, stabbing, constant pain. The pain could last weeks, months or even years and causes a lot of knock on effects such as depression as the client is in so much agony for a prolonged period of time.

Do I need to do anything before treatment?

Yes, it is vital that you are hydrated. The expected intake of water to attend amgtherapy is 2 litres prior to this treatment with a small bottle to sip at during treatment also.

If results do not happen for you it is more than likely due to not having enough water taken. You do not have to hold the water in, it simply needs to be consumed. It is recommended that you begin drinking water daily until your appointment as most of us are chronically dehydrated. It is also required that you do not drink any caffeine related drinks as this will affect your hydration intake.