Shingles (Essay Sample)

Shingles Student’s First Name, Middle Initials, Last Name Institutional Affiliation Course Number and Name Instructor’s Name and Title Assignment Due Date Shingles Shingles is one of the infectious diseases with detrimental impacts. Varicella zoster virus (VZV), the identical infection causing chickenpox (NFID, n.d, CDC, 2019a) leads to the condition (NFID, n.d, CDC, 2019a). After recovering, the virus remains inactive in the body but may reactivate later in life, resulting in shingles. Understanding its symptoms and transmission mode is essential as this contagious illness mainly affects older adults, changing their quality of life. Shingles is a viral disease that causes painful rashes on the body. According to the NFID (n.d), the infection strikes one in every three Americans in their lifetime but results in less than 100 deaths each year. The acute viral inflammation presents different symptoms, with one of the most common being painful rashes which manifest on one side of the face or the body (NFID, n.d). The rash turns into blisters that are characteristically dry within seven to ten days and completely clear within two to four weeks. Mainly, the rash occurs on one side of the body and groups in a strip. When the skin rashes caused by shingles appear on the face, they may affect the eyes and lead to vision loss. In rare cases, the infection can spread all over the body that can be mistaken for chickenpox in immunocompromised individuals (CDC, 2019a). In some cases, this skin disorder affects the nerves causing long-lasting pain, which presents as burning, throbbing, shooting, or stabbing sensations. In older adults, shingles may trigger post-herpetic neuralgia, which results in severe rash (NFID, n.d). Other symptoms include fever, chills, stomach upsets, headache, skin infections, impaired vision and sight, and muscles pains (NFID, n.d, CDC, 2019a). However, the patients may not experience all the symptoms. People with VZV (varicella zoster virus) infection can transmit the contagious agents to other persons. The typical transmission for shingles occurs through contact with fluids from the rash blisters. According to the CDC (2019b), it is impossible to get shingles from someone having shingle...