Time now for our "Life & Info" segment... where we focus on information useful for your everyday life.
The summer heat is fading, …and mornings and evenings are cool with the fall winds.
With the wide daily temperature range weakening immune systems, conditions like shingles are on the rise.
Park Se-young has more.
A painful rash that turns into itchy blisters.
This is the most common symptom of shingles, …caused by the same virus responsible for chicken pox.
The virus remains hidden in the body of a person who has had chicken pox …and becomes reactivated when the immune system is weakened.
And the body's immune system tends to weaken during seasonal changes, …which come with big differences between the daily high and low temperatures.
The painful rash can appear almost anywhere on the body, but it most commonly affects the torso and the face.
Before the rash develops, there can be other symptoms like muscle aches and burning on the skin.
Blisters from the rash usually scab over after a week and clear up within two to four weeks.
However, even if the rash has disappeared, …the accompanying pain can get worse due to neural damage.
Depending on the affected area, the virus can also result in meningitis, blindness and facial paralysis.
This is why people with the symptoms of shingles must get diagnosed and treated within 72 hours.
Shingles requires anti-viral medication and nerve blocks to manage the pain.
Shingles can occur in anyone who has had chicken pox, …and it is especially prevalent in older adults.
Those over 50 years of age or with weakened immune systems are recommended to get a shingles vaccine.
Children and adults who have never had chicken pox should receive two doses of the chicken pox vaccine.
And because shingles is on the rise among younger adults, experts recommend that people stay fit by exercising, and that they avoid overworking and stress.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.
