Shingles: Will it Leave Scars?

Posted April 27th, 2004 by jack

Shingles

Shingles itself will not leave scars, but if you itch and scratch
the scabs, there may be scarring.

Shingles symptoms are a rash that turns into blisters which turn
into a dry scab. This can be seen all over the body and can be very
irritating and painful. The visible symptoms will usually be followed
by general illness; headaches, tiredness and fever.

There is no cure for shingles, but an antiviral agent is usually
prescribed, such as Valacyclovir, Acyclovir or Famciclovir. This will
reduce the risk of Post-Herpetic Neuralgia as well as reduce the
duration and severity of shingles. It is important to start treatment
as early as possible, so you should see a doctor if you suspect that
you have shingles.

To relieve the shingles symptoms, and avoid causing scarring from excessive itching:

Wear lose cotton clothing
Take lukewarm baths
Use a soothing lotion (aloe vera or similar)
Use a local-anesthetic cream
Take pain killers and fever reducing medicines

There is unfortunately not much you can do to avoid shingles. It
is not something you can catch, it is a reactivation of the VZV virus that also causes chickenpox. It remains
latent in the body after chickenpox and will reactivate in 1 in 5
seniors and cause shingles. It is not known why VZV reactivates in some and not in others. It is not known why
it usually reactivates in the seniors either. A low immune defense
system does appear to be a key factor.

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Comments

Will the shingle leave me permanent scars?

On November 26th, 2004 Anonymous says:

My girlfriend has Herpes Zoster since 2 months ago, it looked as it was over but it returned after some weeks, the doctors says it will be over in a couple weeks. The problem is that she is pretty much concerned of the scars that it could leave in her skin since they didn´t dissapeared after the first time. Will i really leave permanent scars? She doesn´t scratch much so that isn´t a problem. Also is there a way to remove the scars?

Thanks

shingle scares

On February 11th, 2005 Anonymous says:

I was just wondering if you knew of any over the counter creams that mey help to reduce the appearance of the shingle scars? Would vitamin E cream help? Is there something stronger? Thank You!

Shingles scars

On March 2nd, 2005 iv says:

Hi,

No, I'm afraid there's not much you can do about shingles scars. If it's really bad, you could talk to your doctor or a dermatologist.

Kind regards,

Herpes Doctor