Overview

Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is a viral infection that causes a painful rash with blisters, resulting from the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox. After chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in nerve cells and can reactivate later in life, often when the immune system is weakened. The condition is characterised by a painful, usually unilateral, rash that typically appears as a stripe of blisters on the torso, face, or neck. 

Causes

The varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is the etiological agent responsible for shingles, a condition characterised by a painful rash and neuralgia. Following an episode of chickenpox, the virus remains in the body, residing in a dormant state within the nerve cells even after the acute symptoms have resolved.

Shingles may manifest when the inactive VZV is reactivated, typically presenting with symptoms such as an erythematous rash, pruritus, and significant discomfort, which may persist for several weeks.                                                                                                                                                                                        

Risk Factors - it is commonly associated with advancing age and a decline in immune function.                                                                                                                                           Individuals over the age of 50 are particularly at risk, as their immunological responses may naturally weaken. Psychological stress, concurrent illnesses, or medications that suppress immune activity may further contribute to the likelihood of reactivation.

Symptoms

• Itching

Some people also experience:

• Fever

• Headache

• Sensitivity to light

• Fatigue

• Pain is usually the first symptom of shingles. For some people, the pain can be intense. Depending on the location of the pain, it can sometimes be mistaken for problems with the heart, lungs or kidneys. Some people experience shingles pain without ever developing the rash.

Most commonly, the shingles rash develops as a stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or right side of the torso. Sometimes the shingles rash occurs around one eye or on one side of the neck or face.

Ayurvedic View

Visarpa - Here, the word sarpana means to spread, and vi, included, is the ability to spread in all directions.Due to the aggravation of three doshas and aama (indigestion that leads to the formation of toxins), causing the vitiation of rakt (blood), lasika (lymph), twak (skin), and mamsa (muscle), results in herpes zoster. The location of visarpa can be bahih shareera (externally or peripherally) and abhyantar (internally involving an organ) or located involving both. Ayurveda's way of approach is to correct dosha and correct dhatva agni(metabolism at the cellular level),jatara agni(gross metabolism), to improve immunity and to bring dosha back to prakruta awastha -niram awastha(balanced state) by adopting ayurvedic panchakarma purification treatment, intake of pathya ahara(healthy food ), and also heal scar marks.