The Complications of Shingles
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Although most cases of shingles settle down after the disease has run its course, there are times when it can also lead to other complication. The skin can develop a secondary bacterial infection called cellulitis and the patient then needs antibiotics to treat it. Shingles can be very dangerous if it affects the nerves around the eyes and the ears. Here it can cause very severe ear pain, affect eyesight, cause vertigo and in very acute cases even paralysis of the facial nerves (also called the Ramsay Hunt Syndrome). If you have shingles on the face you must get a thorough checkup done of your eyes and ears by a good doctor or health care professional. Shingles or chicken pox can also be harmful in the early months of pregnancy, however this happens rarely.
Some patients develop post herpetic neuralgia (or PHN) as an after effect of the shingles disease. When a person has PHN then the shingles affected nerves continue to pain for many months and in some cases even years after the shingles attack. PHN is very difficult to treat and extremely difficult to bear. The pain is so acute that many patients say they cannot bear the slightest amount of touch on the affected area. It is mostly the elderly patients who develop PHN after a shingles attack. |
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