Shingles In McAlester, OK
As a child, you may have experienced chickenpox, which is a painful and irritating rash that happens all over your body. The virus that causes chickenpox stays inside of your body and there’s a chance that it can become active again and cause a different infection known as shingles. Shingles are a painful rash that can occur anywhere on your body but tend to appear on only one side and in an isolated area. It’s not life-threatening but can be painful and cause complications throughout your life.
Treating and Managing Shingles
If you’re dealing with shingles, it’s important to be aware of common symptoms. This includes a rash that occurs on one side of your body, pain and numbness, fluid-filled blisters, and itchiness. The first symptom that you may notice is pain. The severity of your pain depends on the area of the rash and some people never experience any pain. It’s most common that shingles will occur as a strip of blisters that wrap around one side of the torso.
Shingles most commonly occur in adults over the age of 50 and the risk increases as you age. Your dermatologist may recommend receiving the shingles vaccine to help prevent it from ever happening. Adults over the age of 50 should get the vaccine, especially if you’ve had chickenpox in your life. It can also help treat existing shingles and can help lessen the reactions that you may be dealing with. There’s no direct cure, but your doctor can work with you to find the best treatment plan to help you deal with any symptoms and pain you may be dealing with.