sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
Why do more people get shingles after being infected with the new crown?
07:00, June 17, 2023
His eyeballs seemed to be burning, dry, sensitive to light, and unable to look at things for a long time... At the age of 26, one day after working night shifts for a long time, Wu Zhuo's left eye suddenly ached. In the next few days, the pain intensified and spread from the left eye to around the left temple. Even after taking painkillers, he would still be woken up in the middle of the night. When the pain was the worst, he even thought of committing suicide.
On the fifth day after the onset of symptoms, clusters of small transparent blisters appeared on his left forehead and above his left eye, and they were connected together. After that, he was diagnosed with herpes zoster. This makes it hard for him to believe that he basically does not get sick every day, and he "thinks he has a good immune system", but he has "geriatric diseases".
Recently, on social media, many young people shared that they developed herpes zoster shortly after being infected with the new coronavirus and turned negative.
Shingles is a common infectious skin disease, caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, that affects people over the age of 50 and those with compromised immune systems. The consensus in the industry is that about one-third of the population may suffer from shingles in their lifetime. As they age, symptoms and painful complications become more serious. Herpes zoster is called "the cancer that never dies."
The "Chinese Expert Consensus on Diagnosis and Treatment of Herpes Zoster (2022 Edition)" (hereinafter referred to as "Expert Consensus") mentioned that the global incidence of common herpes zoster is increasing at a rate of 2.5% to 5% per year. How should people deal with this "breathing pain"?
not just geriatrics
If a person has chickenpox as a child, it is also possible for a person to develop shingles as an adult. The virus that causes chickenpox stays dormant in the ganglia for a long time, and at some point in the future when the body's immunity declines, the virus is activated, causing rashes and neuralgia. Even if you've never had chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus is widespread. Statistics show that more than 90% of adults have this virus lurking in their bodies.
Herpes zoster is mostly distributed in the area of peripheral nerves in a band shape. A piece of erythema will first appear on the skin, and then clusters of papules the size of rice grains will grow, and then develop into blisters. These blisters may grow in different places on the body, the most common is on the waist, so herpes zoster is also commonly known as "loin-clothed dragon" and "snake loincloth". In addition, herpes zoster can also develop on the chest, eyes, ears, face, scalp, etc., mostly on one side, accompanied by unbearable pain.
Shingles has long been considered a disease of the elderly. According to reports, in China, about 1.56 million people aged 50 and above develop herpes zoster every year. In the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 million people are infected with shingles every year. The older you are, the higher the risk of the disease. Half of the elderly who live to the age of 85 will get shingles once in their lifetime. herpes. As the population ages, more people are likely to be afflicted with shingles each year.
But shingles doesn't just affect the elderly. On June 3, Han Jisheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and "the father of Chinese pain science", mentioned in a forum that the onset of herpes zoster tends to be younger. Fu Lanqin, deputy chief physician of the Department of Dermatology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, told China News Weekly that most of the patients with herpes zoster are elderly people. Although there is no authoritative epidemiological survey, in recent years, she still feels that young patients who come to the clinic has increased, and there are very few young children among them.
On the question-and-answer platform Zhihu, there are many topics such as "I, 23 years old, actually got shingles" and "29 years old got shingles records". Overwork, lack of rest due to staying up late, stress, malnutrition, emotional sadness, etc. are the causes of herpes zoster in young people.
Young people get shingles, which is a modern disease. Tang Shuai, Chief Physician of the Department of Anesthesiology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, is not surprised by this. He is the leader of the "Multidisciplinary Herpes Zoster Full Course Management Team" of Peking Union Medical College Hospital. He told "China News Weekly", "Every disease is getting younger now. Young people have a lot of work and life pressure, and their immunity is weakened. They may get herpes zoster at any time." Compared with middle-aged and elderly people, most young patients have milder symptoms , and the cure rate is also higher. He reminded that even if some people are not tired or depressed, they still have herpes zoster. Everyone must be conscious and go for a comprehensive physical examination to check whether they have immune system diseases.
Pain often runs through the whole process of herpes zoster. Different patients have different experience, which may be one or more pains like burning, electric shock, knife cutting, acupuncture or tearing. Tian Ye got herpes zoster at the age of 25. The herpes grew horizontally on the left side of his waist, and the area was slightly larger than the palm of his hand. She described the pain as "like someone is drilling a hole in your body with an awl, or cutting off your waist." Sometimes it is a large area of pain, and sometimes it feels like a pinprick. Before getting herpes zoster, the most painful experience she experienced was wisdom tooth extraction, but the pain of herpes zoster was "five to six times" that of wisdom tooth extraction.
In the most serious stage, Wu Zhuo’s entire left forehead and the top of his left eye were covered with blisters. In the later stage, the blisters were pus-filled and crusted, which seriously affected his appearance. He couldn’t wash his hair and face for about two weeks. “I don’t pay much attention to my image. Ugly doesn't matter, but the pain is too debilitating." What Wu Zhuo felt was the burning pain after the cornea was damaged. He couldn't open his left eye. The pain intensified at night and it was difficult to fall asleep.
Shingles that grow on the eyes are the most painful. Tang Shuai explained to "China News Weekly" that there are three kinds of pain that are more painful than childbirth, namely cancer pain of tumors, neuralgia of herpes zoster and trigeminal neuralgia. "The eyes are located in the area innervated by the trigeminal nerve. There are two kinds". During the consultation, he will ask the patient, "The pain of childbirth is 10 points, and the pain is 0 points. How much pain do you have now?" Patients often answer without hesitation, 10 points, 20 points!
Herpes zoster is a common skin disease, but many doctors said that the public still has misunderstandings about herpes zoster. Tang Shuai met some patients who hoped that doctors would completely eliminate the vesicular-zoster virus in their bodies, and even three months after getting shingles, they were still taking antiviral drugs. Tang Shuai explained, "This virus continues to lurk in the human body, it cannot be killed, and there is no need to kill it." Patients only need to use antiviral drugs one or two weeks before the course of the disease to control virus replication and reduce the toxicity of the virus. , The rapid replication period of the virus has ended, and there is no need to treat the virus anymore.
The virus "cannot be killed" also means that herpes zoster does not have to be immune for life once. According to Tang Shuai, its recurrence rate is 1% to 6%, and most of them are patients with chronic diseases that affect the immune system. But young people should not take it lightly. He once met a young female patient who stayed up late playing mahjong many times, and herpes zoster recurred twice.
Chang Jianmin, director of the Department of Dermatology at Beijing Hospital and professor of Peking University School of Medicine, did not have specific statistics, but he clearly felt clinically that during the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of patients with herpes zoster increased, mainly middle-aged and elderly people. There has also been an increase in the number of people with shingles.
In March 2022, an article published in the "Infectious Diseases Open Forum" journal published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America showed that the researchers compared about 400,000 new crown patients with 1.6 million patients who were not infected with the new crown virus and found that they were diagnosed as infected. People with COVID-19 had a 15 percent higher risk of developing shingles than people without COVID-19, and that risk rose to 21 percent if they were hospitalized with COVID-19. The author added that the immune dysfunction caused by the new coronavirus may promote the activation of varicella-zoster virus, but this still needs further research to prove.
The "Expert Consensus" stated that there is currently no clear evidence for the prevalence of the new coronavirus and the risk of herpes zoster, but studies have shown that if a person infected with the new coronavirus develops herpes zoster, it usually occurs within 1 to 2 weeks after the onset of the new coronavirus infection. And accompanied by typical symptoms.
more....zhttps://news.sina.com.cn/c/2023-06-17/doc-imyxpxsm4843270.shtml?cre=tianyi&mod=pchp&loc=28&r=0&rfunc=88&tj=cxvertical_pc_hp&tr=181
07:00, June 17, 2023
His eyeballs seemed to be burning, dry, sensitive to light, and unable to look at things for a long time... At the age of 26, one day after working night shifts for a long time, Wu Zhuo's left eye suddenly ached. In the next few days, the pain intensified and spread from the left eye to around the left temple. Even after taking painkillers, he would still be woken up in the middle of the night. When the pain was the worst, he even thought of committing suicide.
On the fifth day after the onset of symptoms, clusters of small transparent blisters appeared on his left forehead and above his left eye, and they were connected together. After that, he was diagnosed with herpes zoster. This makes it hard for him to believe that he basically does not get sick every day, and he "thinks he has a good immune system", but he has "geriatric diseases".
Recently, on social media, many young people shared that they developed herpes zoster shortly after being infected with the new coronavirus and turned negative.
Shingles is a common infectious skin disease, caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, that affects people over the age of 50 and those with compromised immune systems. The consensus in the industry is that about one-third of the population may suffer from shingles in their lifetime. As they age, symptoms and painful complications become more serious. Herpes zoster is called "the cancer that never dies."
The "Chinese Expert Consensus on Diagnosis and Treatment of Herpes Zoster (2022 Edition)" (hereinafter referred to as "Expert Consensus") mentioned that the global incidence of common herpes zoster is increasing at a rate of 2.5% to 5% per year. How should people deal with this "breathing pain"?
The blisters caused by herpes zoster are often found on the waist, so herpes zoster is also commonly known as "loin-clothed dragon" and "snake loincloth". Figure/Visual China
not just geriatrics
If a person has chickenpox as a child, it is also possible for a person to develop shingles as an adult. The virus that causes chickenpox stays dormant in the ganglia for a long time, and at some point in the future when the body's immunity declines, the virus is activated, causing rashes and neuralgia. Even if you've never had chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus is widespread. Statistics show that more than 90% of adults have this virus lurking in their bodies.
Herpes zoster is mostly distributed in the area of peripheral nerves in a band shape. A piece of erythema will first appear on the skin, and then clusters of papules the size of rice grains will grow, and then develop into blisters. These blisters may grow in different places on the body, the most common is on the waist, so herpes zoster is also commonly known as "loin-clothed dragon" and "snake loincloth". In addition, herpes zoster can also develop on the chest, eyes, ears, face, scalp, etc., mostly on one side, accompanied by unbearable pain.
Shingles has long been considered a disease of the elderly. According to reports, in China, about 1.56 million people aged 50 and above develop herpes zoster every year. In the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 million people are infected with shingles every year. The older you are, the higher the risk of the disease. Half of the elderly who live to the age of 85 will get shingles once in their lifetime. herpes. As the population ages, more people are likely to be afflicted with shingles each year.
But shingles doesn't just affect the elderly. On June 3, Han Jisheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and "the father of Chinese pain science", mentioned in a forum that the onset of herpes zoster tends to be younger. Fu Lanqin, deputy chief physician of the Department of Dermatology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, told China News Weekly that most of the patients with herpes zoster are elderly people. Although there is no authoritative epidemiological survey, in recent years, she still feels that young patients who come to the clinic has increased, and there are very few young children among them.
On the question-and-answer platform Zhihu, there are many topics such as "I, 23 years old, actually got shingles" and "29 years old got shingles records". Overwork, lack of rest due to staying up late, stress, malnutrition, emotional sadness, etc. are the causes of herpes zoster in young people.
Young people get shingles, which is a modern disease. Tang Shuai, Chief Physician of the Department of Anesthesiology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, is not surprised by this. He is the leader of the "Multidisciplinary Herpes Zoster Full Course Management Team" of Peking Union Medical College Hospital. He told "China News Weekly", "Every disease is getting younger now. Young people have a lot of work and life pressure, and their immunity is weakened. They may get herpes zoster at any time." Compared with middle-aged and elderly people, most young patients have milder symptoms , and the cure rate is also higher. He reminded that even if some people are not tired or depressed, they still have herpes zoster. Everyone must be conscious and go for a comprehensive physical examination to check whether they have immune system diseases.
Pain often runs through the whole process of herpes zoster. Different patients have different experience, which may be one or more pains like burning, electric shock, knife cutting, acupuncture or tearing. Tian Ye got herpes zoster at the age of 25. The herpes grew horizontally on the left side of his waist, and the area was slightly larger than the palm of his hand. She described the pain as "like someone is drilling a hole in your body with an awl, or cutting off your waist." Sometimes it is a large area of pain, and sometimes it feels like a pinprick. Before getting herpes zoster, the most painful experience she experienced was wisdom tooth extraction, but the pain of herpes zoster was "five to six times" that of wisdom tooth extraction.
In the most serious stage, Wu Zhuo’s entire left forehead and the top of his left eye were covered with blisters. In the later stage, the blisters were pus-filled and crusted, which seriously affected his appearance. He couldn’t wash his hair and face for about two weeks. “I don’t pay much attention to my image. Ugly doesn't matter, but the pain is too debilitating." What Wu Zhuo felt was the burning pain after the cornea was damaged. He couldn't open his left eye. The pain intensified at night and it was difficult to fall asleep.
Shingles that grow on the eyes are the most painful. Tang Shuai explained to "China News Weekly" that there are three kinds of pain that are more painful than childbirth, namely cancer pain of tumors, neuralgia of herpes zoster and trigeminal neuralgia. "The eyes are located in the area innervated by the trigeminal nerve. There are two kinds". During the consultation, he will ask the patient, "The pain of childbirth is 10 points, and the pain is 0 points. How much pain do you have now?" Patients often answer without hesitation, 10 points, 20 points!
Herpes zoster is a common skin disease, but many doctors said that the public still has misunderstandings about herpes zoster. Tang Shuai met some patients who hoped that doctors would completely eliminate the vesicular-zoster virus in their bodies, and even three months after getting shingles, they were still taking antiviral drugs. Tang Shuai explained, "This virus continues to lurk in the human body, it cannot be killed, and there is no need to kill it." Patients only need to use antiviral drugs one or two weeks before the course of the disease to control virus replication and reduce the toxicity of the virus. , The rapid replication period of the virus has ended, and there is no need to treat the virus anymore.
The virus "cannot be killed" also means that herpes zoster does not have to be immune for life once. According to Tang Shuai, its recurrence rate is 1% to 6%, and most of them are patients with chronic diseases that affect the immune system. But young people should not take it lightly. He once met a young female patient who stayed up late playing mahjong many times, and herpes zoster recurred twice.
Chang Jianmin, director of the Department of Dermatology at Beijing Hospital and professor of Peking University School of Medicine, did not have specific statistics, but he clearly felt clinically that during the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of patients with herpes zoster increased, mainly middle-aged and elderly people. There has also been an increase in the number of people with shingles.
In March 2022, an article published in the "Infectious Diseases Open Forum" journal published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America showed that the researchers compared about 400,000 new crown patients with 1.6 million patients who were not infected with the new crown virus and found that they were diagnosed as infected. People with COVID-19 had a 15 percent higher risk of developing shingles than people without COVID-19, and that risk rose to 21 percent if they were hospitalized with COVID-19. The author added that the immune dysfunction caused by the new coronavirus may promote the activation of varicella-zoster virus, but this still needs further research to prove.
The "Expert Consensus" stated that there is currently no clear evidence for the prevalence of the new coronavirus and the risk of herpes zoster, but studies have shown that if a person infected with the new coronavirus develops herpes zoster, it usually occurs within 1 to 2 weeks after the onset of the new coronavirus infection. And accompanied by typical symptoms.
more....zhttps://news.sina.com.cn/c/2023-06-17/doc-imyxpxsm4843270.shtml?cre=tianyi&mod=pchp&loc=28&r=0&rfunc=88&tj=cxvertical_pc_hp&tr=181