Herpes Zoster: Are we heading for a shingles epidemic?

If you’re aged over sixteen, you may well remember having chickenpox as a child. Or maybe you remember an older sibling having the disease.

Before 1995, chickenpox was considered a minor, if somewhat distressing disease. Most children caught it at some stage and made a full and lasting recovery.

Then, in 1995, a vaccine [...]

Herpes Shingles and Stroke Risks!

Herpes Zoster is a recurrence of the chickenpox virus which, like HSV-1 and HSV-2 can linger in the body for a lifetime. Shingles symptoms normally start with a visible and painful or tingling rash on the face or body. Research recently published in Stroke reveals adults infected with shingles (herpes zoster) present a 30 percent greater risk of stroke than adults who have not been so infected. The risk becomes even higher if shingles has affected the area around the eyes. [...]