Can Chicken Pox Cause Shingles?
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The Varicella-Zoster Virus
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Chicken pox, or varicella, is an extremely contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It may cause body aches, fever, fatigue, irritability and, what it is most noted for, itchy blisters that can cover the entire body. Considering that shingles, or herpes zoster, is also a form of the varicella-zoster virus, anyone who has contracted chicken pox is also susceptible to shingles.
However, younger adults are more likely to contract the chicken pox virus, whereas half of the million people diagnosed with shingles each year in the U.S. are over 60 years old.
How can the chicken pox virus cause shingles? Simply put, once a person has been infected with chicken pox, the varicella-zoster virus can remain dormant inside the body's nerve cells for years, and even decades, and can reactivate into shingles. Once reactivated, the virus flares up the body's nerve fibers, causing pain and eventually blisters on the surface of the skin.
People become more susceptible to shingles with aging and infections, but there are cases where young healthy adults have contracted the virus. Basically, anyone can get shingles when the body's immune system is weakened.
What to Look For
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Shingles can come in many forms. The most predominant symptoms are blistering rashes that usually appear on one side of the body on the torso or face. But there have been cases where damage has spread to the inside of the mouth, eyes and even internal organs. Another symptom to look for is pain and numbness a few days before the rash forms.
What makes shingles so much scarier than chicken pox is that shingles can lead to a long-term illness known as post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). This illness causes long-term pain even after the rashes have subsided.
Treatment and Prevention
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There are a couple of ways to rid yourself of both chicken pox and shingles, the first being time. Chicken pox is a milder form of the varicella-zoster virus and usually dissipates within one week after the symptoms appear. Shingles, on the other hand, takes more time to heal. Usually the infected skin becomes red, then forms small ulcers, which eventually begin to dry and form crusts. The crusts take two to three weeks to fall off. Overall, shingles takes about a month to overcome.
Another way to treat shingles is with prescribed antiviral medications. Acyclovir is the most popular treatment for shingles and helps relieve pain as well as shorten the course of the virus. However, acyclovir, along with other antiviral medications, does not treat PHN.
Prevention through vaccination is the best way to avoid chicken pox, shingles and PHN altogether. The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases recommends that children receive two chicken pox vaccinations, one at 12 to 15 months and the second at 4 to 6 years of age. It also recommends that everyone get shingles vaccinations, especially adults over 60 years old. Shingles vaccinations also reduce the chances of a person contracting PHN by 66 percent.
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