Knocked out by the "Snake"
Monday, September 10, 2007Last Friday night after attending the JetStar's cocktail party, I found some rashes on my shoulder and left side of my chest. I thought the rashes happened because I am allergic to beer as I drank 2 mugs of beer that evening as I have stop drinking long time ago. I expect it go away by itself and still had two rounds of golf over the weekend.
Unfortunately, the rashes are still there and it has worsen. The rash begins as multiple small, red bumps that look like pimples or insect bites. They develop into thin-walled blisters filled with clear fluid, which becomes cloudy. The blister wall breaks, leaving open sores and it is quite painful with occasional headache and fever. I had wanted to see my family doctor at SS19 but he was not in.
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He explained that it is exactly like chicken pox known as (Herpes zoster 或 shingles and will appeared when your antibody is weak. It is contagious. and can be quite painful. He said it will 3-4 days for it to heal and 10days to be fully recovered. I asked for some antibiotics but Dr said this is a virus and can only be treated by anti-virus drug,acyclovir.
He prescribed some medication and calamine lotion to treat the "Snake"
I found out from the web that anyone who has had chickenpox (or the chickenpox vaccine) as a child is at risk for developing shingles later in life, and up to 20% do. After an infection, VZV can remain inactive in nerve cells near the spinal cord and reactivate later as shingles, which can cause tingling, itching, or pain followed by a rash with red bumps and blisters. Shingles is sometimes treated with antiviral drugs, steroids, and pain medications, and in May 2006 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a vaccine to prevent shingles in people 60 and older
Chickenpox is very contagious — most kids with a sibling who's been infected will get it as well, showing symptoms about 2 weeks after the first child does. To help keep the virus from spreading, make sure your kids wash their hands frequently, particularly before eating and after using the bathroom. And keep a child with chickenpox away from unvaccinated siblings as much as possible.
People who haven't had chickenpox also can catch it from someone with shingles, but they cannot catch shingles itself. That's because shingles can only develop from a reactivation of VZV in someone who has previously had chickenpox.
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