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Library)
What
is Shingles?
Shingles (otherwise known as 'Herpes Zoster' occurs when the major sensory nerves become infected with the
Herpes Zoster (HZ) virus. The HZ virus is closely related to, if not
identical to, the chicken pox virus and it attacks the sensory nerves
producing pain and blistering around the inflamed nerve and on the skin -
commonly the chest. Itching and pain can be extremely severe and even
after the infection subsides and blisters have disappeared, the pain can
remain (known as 'postherpetic neuralgia'). Many doctors believe that this
is due to scarring of the affected nerves.
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Conventional
medical treatment
Conventional medical treatment focuses
on topical, intravenous and oral medications (mainly antiviral agents) but
studies relating to these remain inconclusive. Even the British National
Formulary states in relation to the commonly used antiviral drug 'Acyclovir'
: 'Evidence of its value in Herpes Zoster infections is conflicting.'
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