The sooner you treat shingles, the better.

Recently, singers Cai Guoqing and Na Ying were reported to have been infected with acute herpes zoster. Many netizens who are familiar with or have suffered from the disease have left messages saying that the pain of the disease is indeed unusual. Unlike many diseases with pain as the main symptom, the sequelae of this disease is still pain! How to effectively prevent and treat this disease?

Zang Ping, chief Chinese medicine doctor at the Acupuncture Department of Nanjing Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, said that herpes zoster is an infectious skin disease caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus. A 2022 study in the Chinese Journal of Dermatology showed that more than 90% of adults have latent varicella-zoster virus in their bodies. With age and the decline of immune system function, the varicella-zoster virus-specific cellular immune function also decreases, and the incidence of herpes zoster shows an upward trend.

Shingles can occur at any age. Even if you are in good health, the risk of developing shingles after the age of 50 will still increase, especially for middle-aged and elderly people with underlying chronic diseases. For example, patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have a 24% to 41% increased risk of developing shingles. Once people with chronic diseases are infected, it may lead to aggravation of the original chronic disease, clinical adverse health outcomes, and even an increased risk of death. Taking diabetes as an example, after diabetic patients get shingles, it makes blood sugar control more difficult. In addition, patients with rheumatic autoimmune diseases are also one of the main high-risk groups for shingles.

The course of herpes zoster is usually 2 to 4 weeks. The best treatment effect of herpes zoster is within 72 hours of the appearance of skin lesions, and the probability of postherpetic neuralgia is also the lowest. To prevent the disease, you need to improve your basic resistance, eat a light diet, supplement protein appropriately, and exercise moderately. Secondly, vaccination is also one of the effective ways to prevent herpes zoster.

It is worth noting that patients with herpes zoster may also develop complications - postherpetic neuralgia, and the incidence rate increases with age. Data show that 10% to 30% of people will experience postherpetic neuralgia after contracting herpes zoster, and 30% to 50% of patients with postherpetic neuralgia will experience pain for more than 1 year, and some may even last up to 10 years.

Postherpetic neuralgia refers to pain that persists for one month or more after the herpes zoster rash heals. It is a chronic neuropathic pain. The main clinical symptoms are needle-like, burning, and electric shock-like pain. The pain is continuous or paroxysmal, seriously affecting the patient's sleep and quality of life.

Zang Ping said that Chinese medicine believes that "pain occurs when there is no circulation, and pain occurs when there is no nourishment". This disease is mostly caused by the residual evil in the late stage of herpes zoster, which is combined with the dampness and heat of the liver and gallbladder, blocking the meridians and causing qi and blood to stagnate, or the long-term consumption of positive energy and meridian malnutrition. From the perspective of clinical patients, the early stage of herpes zoster combined with external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine can effectively shorten the absorption time of blisters, promote the recovery of scabs, and promote the recovery of skin inflammation; the sequelae period combined with external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine can achieve the effect of strengthening the body, eliminating evil and relieving pain, effectively relieving neuralgia and improving the patient's sleep quality. External treatment of traditional Chinese medicine has certain characteristics.

Correspondent: Yang Pu

Reporter: Yang Yu