Shingles

Inflammatory response is when tissue will react to a certain pain, redness, itching, and swelling. Inflammatory response is also when his or her joints and muscles become inflamed, due to illness, injury, and stress. The main function of inflammatory response is to defend his or her body against diseases and other substances that could harm the body.

Shingles, also called herpes zoster or zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. (NYS Department of Health 2011) According to the Mayo Clinic (1998-2011). "Although shingles can occur anywhere on your body, it most often appears as a single stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or the right side of your torso." Once a person has contracted chicken poxes the virus will remain not active in the nerves of his or her body. Shingles will develop once the virus becomes active in his or her nerves this could be many years later. Shingles seems to affect most age groups, but it can affect older people in their 60's or older and if he or she developed chickenpox before the age of one. Shingles can also affect a person if he or she has a weak immune system or he or she is on medication; injury or a disease. The symptoms of shingles usually start in stages, he or she could develop a headache, their eyes could be sensitive to light, and develop flu like symptoms. As these symptoms worse he or she might start to feel itching, tingling or pain in certain areas of his or her body. In a few days a rash might appear where he or she feels these symptoms. According to Pub Med Health 2011," Red patches on the skin, followed by small blisters, form in most people. The blisters break, forming small ulcers that begin to dry and form crusts. The crusts fall off in 2 to 3 weeks. Scarring is rare." Some additional symptoms would include fever, chills, abdominal pain, headaches, and fatigue. Experiencing pain is usually the fist symptom of shingles then the rash could appear days later.