Aunt Zeng, a 65-year-old aunt in Changsha, is usually in good health and rarely even suffers from colds, but recently she has been tormented by waist and leg pain.
The family took the elderly to a nearby hospital for treatment as soon as possible, and the lumbar MRI examination showed that there was a lumbar intervertebral disc herniation, and the preliminary diagnosis was "lumbar intervertebral disc herniation", and he was given analgesia and edema.
However, Aunt Zeng's symptoms did not improve, and she experienced severe pain at night. Recently, Aunt Zeng came to the Chinese medicine ** physiotherapy department of the Community Health Service Center of Furong North Road Street, Kaifu District.
Dr. Jiang Xiaoqin, who received the consultation, inquired about the condition in detail and learned that Aunt Zeng had persistent pain in her lower back and leg on the left side, and the nature of the pain was a knife cut or fire-like pain, in addition to spontaneous pain, touching the leg ** would cause severe pain. The physical examination also found that Aunt Zeng had a red "small bean" from her left calf to the root of her thigh. Combined with the symptoms and test results, Dr. Jiang Xiaoqin already has the answer.
It turned out that the "culprit" that caused Aunt Zeng's waist and leg pain was shingles, that is, neuralgia caused by herpes zoster virus infection.
At present, after antiviral, vegetative nerve, nerve block and other systems**, Aunt Zeng has returned to her old smiling face, "This kind of disease is painful and kills, this time I really experienced it, if it weren't for your timely and accurate **, I wouldn't be okay so quickly, thank you so much!" ”
1. What exactly is shingles?
Dr. Jiang Xiaoqin explained that herpes zoster is an acute herpetic disease caused by varicella-zoster virus, which is characterized by clustered blisters distributed in a band-like pattern along the peripheral nerves on one side of the body, accompanied by significant pain and regional lymphadenopathy.
The varicella-zoster virus can be latent in the sensory ganglia for a long time, and when the body's resistance is low, the virus is activated, and it rapidly proliferates in the sensory nerve endings and destroys tissues and cells, causing acute illness in patients. It is common in the chest and abdomen, lower back, and face, and some lesions are in characteristic areas such as; Head and face, armpits, perineum, thighs, etc.
2. Who is prone to shingles?
Herpes zoster can occur at any age, and is highly common in the elderly and immunocompromised people, with an incidence rate of nearly twice that of the general population in the elderly over 60 years old and nearly 3 times that of the general population over the age of 80.
The elderly can improve their immunity and enhance their ability to resist diseases through appropriate exercise, strengthening nutrition, ensuring sleep, and receiving herpes zoster vaccine.
3. What should I do if I have shingles?
In the early stage of herpes virus infection or without blister-like changes, some patients often cannot distinguish the painful area and go to the doctor, which is easy to miss and misdiagnose.
For the elderly, once there is unexplained body pain, erythematous blisters and other conditions, it is necessary to seek medical attention in time and standardize it as soon as possible to avoid severe post-hereditary neuralgia affecting daily life and endangering physical health.
Dr. Jiang Xiaoqin reminds everyone: In addition to the conventional antiviral and nerve-nourishing nerves, traditional Chinese medicine ** herpes zoster will also be targeted according to the patient's symptoms and tongue and veins, such as clearing heat and detoxifying, strengthening the spleen and dampness, strengthening the liver and promoting qi and circulation, so as to reduce inflammation, strengthen the body, dispel evil and relieve pain;
Elderly patients with severe disease may still have neuralgia after the skin lesions completely disappear, at this time, acupuncture, phlebotomy, physiotherapy and other physical ** and traditional Chinese medicine such as nerve block ** can be used to relieve the pain, and in severe cases, minimally invasive surgery such as spinal cord electrical stimulation can also be performed.
Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Gong Juanlin, Community Health Service Center, Furong North Road Street, Kaifu District, follow @Hunan Medical Chat to get more health science information!
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