Shingles

- 4 Sections of Shingles

 * 1) =====History of Shingles - Jake F.=====
 * 2) =====How Shingles is Transmitted - Maggie M.=====
 * 3) =====Symptoms of Shingles and Where it is Prevalent - Cole C.=====
 * 4) =====Possible Cures for Shingles- Tommy M.=====

-History of Shingles
Shingles is also commonly referred to as [|herpes zoster]. Zoster derives from the ancient Greek language meaning 'dress,' like the effect that shingles has on your body. As you can tell from the name, herpes zoster has been around for a long time. Scientists say that shingles was known to exist as early as 1000 A.D. Shingles is a virus that is quite similar to chickenpox and smallpox. In fact, no one knew the difference until the mid-1700s when scientist [|William Herberden] discovered it. In 1831, a physician by the name of [|Richard Bright] hypothesized that shingles would occur in the dorsal root ganglion. His hypothesis was confirmed in 1861, when Felix von Bärunsprung wrote a paper on the connection between shingles and the dorsal root ganglion. A dorsal root ganglion (gang´gle-on) is essentially a nodule on the dorsal root cell; the root of the spinal nerve. This can be found in the vertebral column by the spine. In the early 1900s, scientists began to link the diseases Shingles and chickenpox. Prior to 1942, Shingles wasn't recognized as one of the more serious diseases. But that all changed when further statistics in the 1950s showed that out of 1000 people who lived to be 85, 500 people would get it once, and 10 would get it twice. Shingles is still of concern today. Unlike most disease, no major outbreaks have been recorded, since Shingles isn't contagious. Throughout history Shingles has been of a concern, and should be taken seriously.



-How Shingles is Transmitted
Shingles isn't an organism. It's a collection of nucleic acids capable of attaching itself to DNA. Since Shingles causes blisters, each open blister has microscopic copies of the virus. If a person has openings on the skin and comes in contact with an open blister, the virus can move into the new host and cause an outbreak. Another way to get shingles is through your own body. According to [|eHow.com], once you get chickenpox the virus stays in your nerve roots. The virus may wake up due to stress, depression, or weakening of the immune system. If you happen to get PHN, a kind of Shingles, the pain after can last for months or years. In some people, the slightest touch can be very painful.

-Symptoms of Shingles and Where it is Prevalent
Shingles occurs in three stages. The first stage is the Prodromal Stage. Some of the symptoms are burning, tickling, and numbness around the areas of the nerves that are affected. The pain is usually chest or back but can occur in other places such as your head, arm, or leg. Also, there are symptoms of the flu except there is no fever. The second stage is the Active Stage. In this stage a rash occurs in one of three ways; band, strip, or a small area. The rash only appears on one side of the body. The rash will heal in about 2-4 weeks and will most likely leave scars. The pain of the scar is described as "piercing needles in the skin." Also blisters will form and the water will start out clear and become harder and harder to see as the days pass. The blister will eventually break open, seep out, and then scab over. The third and final stage is the Postherpetic neuralgia stage or more commonly known as PHN. This stage can last from 30 days to years and has unrelenting pain. The person usually has a tremendous compassion to touch. Also there is pain where the rash once was. It can also cause for a person to have trouble eating, sleeping, and doing other daily activities. It can lead to depression. The symptoms of Shingles can be mistaken for other diseases such as herpes simplex virus, poison ivy, or impetigo. Shingles is prevalent worldwide. For more information [|Click here.]

-Possible Cures for Shingles
There is no complete cure for Shingles; however there are various types of treatment options to reduce the pain you receive from Shingles. There are also other treatment options that include possibly shortening how long you have the disease and any complications such as PHN that you may get later. There are different medications that your doctor can prescribe to you to take to do these things, and there are other options, somewhat crazy options in my opinion, that are said to get rid of Shingles quickly and easily. These can be found all over the Internet, some of them include taking a cold bath in uncooked oatmeal and rub fresh ginger slices and lemon juice to your rash. As you can see there are said to be many treatment options for Shingles.

Getting back to real doctoral treatment options, most doctors will prescribe one who has Shingles with antiviral medicines and pain medications/antidepressants to reduce long term pain. They also may prescribe topical creams for you to put on your rash to reduce the rash itself and the pain you can receive from it. These are all initial treatment options, so as soon as you are diagnosed with Shingles, you will be put on these medicines immediately. For ongoing treatment, if your rash from Shingles worsens, your doctor may give you Corticosteroids and other Opioids such as Codeine. If your Shingles rash seems to still be there and doesn’t seem to be going away, your doctor might also give you topical anesthetics to put on your rash externally. If you still have pain after a few months from when you were diagnosed, your doctor may also diagnose you with “postherpetic neuralgia” or PHN. PHN is the most common complication from Shingles and it can cause pain for months or even years after you originally had Shingles. Treatment plans to reduce PHN pain can include antidepressant medicines, over-the-counter topical anesthetics, anticonvulsant medicines, and Opioids like Codeine.

Some people, instead of properly going to a doctor, will look to save money and do some crazy things found online to reduce and eventually get rid of Shingles pain. A leading online site for “natural cures” ([|Natural Cures For...]) for many types of diseases has a list of 11 different cheap options that are said to cure Shingles and reduce pain in the process. Here is the list:


 * 1.** Take a bath of cold and uncooked oatmeal[[image:bacterialandviraldiseases/varicella-zoster_virus-infection_-[1-sk056_1].jpeg width="210" height="159" align="right" caption="Herpes Zoster, the responsible organism/cell that causes Shingles. This is what may lead people to use some of these "outland-ish" techniques the internet provides." link="@http://www.pathpedia.com/education/eatlas/histopathology/skin_and_adnexa/herpes_zoster_infection.aspx"]]
 * 2.** Yoga – (meditation, breathing exercises, & yoga poses) – said to lower stress therefore lowering pain
 * 3.** Take Vitamin E right before every meal you eat on a daily basis
 * 4.** Take 1000mg of Vitamin C at the first sight of Shingles
 * 5.** Capsaicin Cream – (active ingredient in Chili Peppers) – said to reduce pain
 * 6.** Take Echinacea tablets on a daily basis
 * 7.** Eat 1-2 cloves of garlic and 1-2 slices of fresh ginger per day
 * 8.** Apply fresh ginger slices and lemon juice externally to rash up to 6 times per day
 * 9.** Crinkle dried leaves, lemon balm, and water together to create a lotion to put on your rash from Shingles
 * 10.** Incorporate more Fruits and Vegetables into your diet – said to strengthen immune system to fight rash outbreaks
 * 11.** Apply one ounce of vinegar and 32 ounces of water to rash externally 3 times per day

As you can see, I feel as many of these are crazy and will never work, however we never know. In my opinion, your safest bet to get rid of Shingles is to go right to your doctor as soon as you see the first effects of Shingles. Doctors give you many options to get rid of Shingles, and although they might not get rid of Shingles right away, they will help and they will eventually work.


 * Q1:** During the first week of your experience with Shingles, how terrible/intense was the pain?
 * Q2:** As the affects of Shingles worsened and time passed, how terrible/intense was the pain?
 * Q3:** At what level/how much did some of the medications you were put on reduce the pain?
 * Q4:** At what level/how much did any ointments you used reduce the pain OR the rash
 * Q5:** At what level/how much were you tempted to itch/scratch the rash you got from Shingles?
 * Q6:** When you had Shingles, how terrifying/scary was your experience with it?
 * Q7:** At what level do you ever fear you could get PHN after having Shingles, today?
 * Q8:** Overall, how intense was your experience with Shingles?

Average age of Surveyers when they originally had __Chickenpox__: 8 years old

Average age of Surveyers when they had __Shingles__: 45 years old

**Listed Effects of Shingles Surveyers Wrote:**
1. "Pain and/or soreness only on the right half of my body. Mostly in the ribcage area." 2. "Rash was spread out - very painful but not itchy - lasted for more than a month." 3. "Deep nerve pain, tiring"

-Sources
-Demand Media. (n.d.). //How Do Shingles Spread To Others?// Retrieved from [] -WebMD. (2011, July). //Shingles - Topic Overview//. Retrieved from [] -WebMD. "Shingles - Treatment Overview." //WebMD//. WebMD, 27 May 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. [] shingles-treatment-overview -"Herpes Zoster Infection (VZV)." //Pathpedia//. Pathpedia LLC., 2006 - 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. Retrieved from [] [|skin_and_adnexa/herpes_zoster_infection.aspx] -"Natural Cures for Shingles." //Natural Cures For?// Natural-Cures-For.com, 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. [] PubMed Health. (2012).//Shingles//. Retrieved from [] Edwards, Regina. "In What Parts of the Is the Shingles Virus Found?" -“Dorsal root ganglion.” //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. []. -“Herpes Zoster.” //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. []. -“History of Shingles Disease.” //eHow//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. []. -“Ophthalmic nerve.” //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. []. -“Posterior root of spinal nerve.” //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. []. -“Richard Bright (physician).” //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. []. -“Shingles History.” //Shingles Symptoms Guide//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. []. -“Trigeminal nerve.” //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. []. -“William Herberden.” //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. [] -ehowlivestrong.com, 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. . "Shingles: Hope Through Research." -National Institute of Neurological Disordersand Stroke. NIH Publication, 25 Nov. 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. .  -"Shingles - Symptoms." //WebMD//. Healthwise, 27 May 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. . -This is a map of where the disease Shingles is most prevalent in the U.S.A. Chart. //textmap//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

-3 Surveyers:
 * Mr. Witzeling
 * Mr. Murphy
 * Mrs. Maternowski