look news india
Diabetes is a health condition which along with affecting the metabolism of the body, also weakens our immunity internally. People whose blood sugar levels remain uncontrolled for a long time, their body becomes extremely vulnerable to various types of viral and bacterial infections. In such a situation, many times such strange and painful changes are seen on the skin, which common people ignore considering it to be a minor pimple or allergy. But do you know that sudden sharp needle pricking pain in a particular part of the body followed by small water-filled blisters appearing in clusters there can be a sign of a serious disease? In the language of medical science, it is called ‘Shingles’, which is also called Herpes Zoster in common parlance. In diabetic patients, this problem not only spreads more rapidly than in common people, but its symptoms can be quite painful and last for a long time, hence it is very important for everyone to have correct information about it in time.
Shingles is not a new or unknown virus, rather it is the same Varicella-Zoster virus which gives us chickenpox i.e. mother’s disease in childhood. Once a person completely recovers from chickenpox, the virus is not completely eliminated, but remains hidden in a dormant state in the nerves of our body, i.e. the nervous system. Later on, whenever a person’s immunity weakens, whether due to ageing, excessive stress or due to a chronic disease like diabetes, this sleeping virus awakens again. After waking up, this virus reaches the surface of the skin through the nerves. This is why the symptoms of shingles, instead of spreading all over the body, are always limited to one side of the body, such as the right or left side of the back, chest, face or abdomen. It follows the path of the nerves coming out of the spinal cord, due to which rashes and blisters appear in a certain band or circle on the skin in the area where this infection occurs.
Shingles attacks can be more painful and complicated for people with diabetes than for normal healthy people. The main reason for this is that high blood sugar already weakens the nerves, which is called diabetic neuropathy. When the shingles virus attacks these weak nerves, the pain becomes unbearable. Initially, the patient starts feeling severe burning, numbness, prickling or persistent pain in that area several days before any pimple appears on the skin. After a few days, red rashes appear at that place which gradually turn into water-filled blisters or blisters. In diabetic patients, after the bursting of these ulcers, the wound healing process is very slow, due to which the risk of bacterial secondary infection increases manifold. Additionally, even after the blisters heal, persistent severe pain persists for several weeks or months, which is called post-herpetic neuralgia. This condition can severely affect the patient’s sleep, mental peace and daily life.
If you or any person suffering from diabetes in your family notices continuous burning, pain or watery blisters in any part of the body without any injury, then do not consider it as a normal skin problem and leave it to home remedies. Time plays a big role in the treatment of shingles. If anti-viral medicines are started within the first 72 hours of infection as per the doctor’s advice, the spread of the virus can be stopped to a great extent and the intensity of pain can also be reduced. Along with this, keeping blood sugar level strictly under control is the biggest protection, because when sugar is controlled, immunity works better and the virus does not get a chance to flourish. Nowadays, shingles vaccine is also available to prevent this infection, which can be administered on the advice of a doctor. Include nutritious items in your diet, get enough sleep and stay away from mental stress so that your immunity remains strong and you can stay safe from such painful health problems.