Contents:
- Medical Video: Demystifying Medicine 2016: Shingles (Herpes Zoster) Revisited
- The equation for shingles and chickenpox
- Difference between shingles and chickenpox
- Characteristics of chickenpox
- Characteristics of shingles
Medical Video: Demystifying Medicine 2016: Shingles (Herpes Zoster) Revisited
When itching red spots appear on the body, you may immediately try to guess the cause. Red spots can occur due to viruses that cause shingles and chickenpox. Both are indeed related diseases. Well, but how do you distinguish these two diseases? Come on, see further about the differences in herpes zoster and chickenpox below.
The equation for shingles and chickenpox
Both herpes zoster and chickenpox are both caused by a virus called varicella-zoster. Because the virus is the same, the symptoms caused are also similar. On your skin reddish spots will appear on the whole body.
Usually these spots will turn into small bumps filled with fluid. Over time the bumps will dry out and leave scars on the surface of your skin.
Difference between shingles and chickenpox
Even though the virus is the same, new herpes zoster will appear in people who have had chickenpox before. The first time you get infected with the varicella-zoster virus, you will experience chickenpox.
After recovering from chickenpox, this virus can still stay and "hide" in your body. This virus is precisely hiding in your nerve cells. Well, when your body's resistance is weakening, this remaining virus will attack again. The second virus attack is called herpes zoster.
This attack can occur within a period of several years. Therefore, if you have had smallpox as a child, you are very likely to experience herpes when you are an adult. However, this virus can also never attack you again for life.
More details, see the various differences in chickenpox and herpes zoster below.
Characteristics of chickenpox
Chickenpox is a contagious disease. Transmission can occur through the air. For example when people who are exposed to smallpox cough, sneeze, or breathe. You can also catch smallpox in contact with the bumps of people who are suffering from chickenpox. If you have not been immunized, you are very likely to contract it from someone who has chickenpox. Therefore, you should make sure you have got an anti chickenpox vaccine.
In addition, chickenpox usually appears in the form of spots that spread throughout the body unevenly.
Characteristics of shingles
Unlike chickenpox, herpes zoster is not contagious. However, when the person around you has herpes zoster, this varicella zoster virus may still spread. So if you have never had chickenpox before then you are close to someone who has shingles, you may not get shingles. However, you have the risk of contracting the varicella-zoster virus and getting chickenpox.
Therefore, if you have never had chickenpox, it's good to prevent direct contact with people who are sick with shingles.
If smallpox is usually characterized by diffuse red spots, herpes usually occurs in the form of spots that extend in certain parts of the body. However, the pattern that emerges can be different for everyone.
