Treating Shingles in the Eye
"It looked like somebody gave me a beating," late night TV host David Letterman said of his shingles attack. "It's an irritation, inflammation or infection. For the love of God, does it hurt!" While shingles of the eye is somewhat rare, prompt treatment of shingles in the eye is extremely important to prevent lasting damage or even loss of vision. After a few days of feeling tired and sluggish, the pain-riddled rash and blisters arrived, which let Letterman know he needed to visit the doctor straight away.
Of the estimated 1 million Americans who are diagnosed with shingles each year, about 20% will suffer from shingles in the eye, says the National Institutes of Health and the Mayo Clinic. The condition generally only affects one eye, since the varicella zoster virus travels down nerve pathways on one side of the body only. Prompt treatment of shingles is crucial no matter where the rash appears, but researchers have found that waiting just one day can mean the difference between blindness and recovery. The antiviral medication prescribed by doctors is essential to reducing the risk of serious side effects, in addition to relieving painful symptoms.
The shingles varicella zoster virus sometimes starts with a week of headaches or a strange pain on one side of the face. Fatigue and mild fever often accompany the virus. The skin around the eye becomes tender and a chickenpox-like rash develops. One small lesion or cluster of red spots might appear on the tip of the nose or beneath the eye next. Sometimes sufferers wake up with an eye swollen shut. This rash causes intense itching, eye watering, impaired vision and eye swelling that can be almost unbearable. After a week or so, the blisters usually dry up and fade but there can be long-lasting symptoms if shingles in the eye are not treated promptly and effectively.
The treatment of shingles in the eye is not very invasive, usually. If caught early (within the first 72 hours of the rash appearance), doctors will prescribe an antiviral medication, like acyclovir or famvir that weakens the virus and reduces the risk of developing serious side effects, like post-herpetic neuralgia, incessant pain or glaucoma and blindness. Prescription eye drops and topical creams help to reduce itchiness and pain both in and around the eye. For seriously inflamed eyes, steroids may be prescribed to reduce the swelling and allow the eye to heal naturally.
Related topics about Shingles in the Eye
Shingles Disease: The Facts
The shingles disease is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is part of the herpes viruses that cause chickenpox. Anyone who has had chickenpox can develop shingles, as it often lies dormant in the nervous system for years. Doctors are still researching to figure out what triggers the dormant virus in some people, but they speculate that it may be due to a lowered immunity to infections as the body weakens with age.
Shingles Disease Symptoms Are Painful
Many patients wonder, "Are shingles contagious?" They also wonder if they will experience these painful shingles disease symptoms more than once in their lifetime. Doctors can say with certainty that a person cannot catch shingles from someone who has shingles, but if they've never had the chickenpox before, they can catch that form of the herpes virus. So far it seems, almost without exception, that people will either never get shingles or will only have it once.
Treatment For Shingles Pain
Treatment for shingles pain ranges greatly, depending on the doctor and the patient's response, says Dr. Anne Louise Oaklander MD, PhD of Massachusetts. "Some people may find that over the counter anti-inflammatory and pain relief is adequate, such as acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen," she explains, "but substantial numbers of people will need prescribed pain medications by their physician.