Shingles Scare

Due to immune system suppression, it is common to find an outbreak of shingles in stem cell patients. For those who don't know, here's a brief synopsis of this condition which I found in an article off the Internet.

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is caused by reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. Once chickenpox infection has run its course, the virus is not eliminated; rather, it retreats to clusters of sensory nerve cells usually located near the spinal cord, where the virus persists in a dormant state. As immunity weakens with advancing age, the virus can reactivate, multiply in and damage sensory nerve cells to cause pain. It then migrates to the skin, causing the blistering rash of shingles.

Anyone who has had chickenpox, which includes most adults in the United States, could develop shingles, although not all will. The two major risk factors are increasing age and declining immunity. Half of all people who live to age 85 will get the disease. Experts estimate more than 1 million new cases of shingles occur in the United States each year.

You can understand that if you had chickenpox, and your immune system was suddenly eliminated, this virus would have free rein on your system.

For the past week I've developed some 'pimples' on my back and chest. The one my back recently turned into a blister yesterday. Fearing that I may have contracted shingles, I went to the emergency room yesterday to have it checked out. The doctor there was midly suspicious, but wasn't totally sure. To be safe, I was put on some antiviral drugs, and will have my doctor look at it on Monday.