Varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox, a self-limited disease with disseminated skin lesions that occurs mostly in childhood. It us...
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox, a self-limited disease with disseminated skin lesions that occurs mostly in childhood. It usually persists symtomatically in the dorsal root ganglia of anyone who has had chickenpox. It reactivates from its dormant state and travel along the sensory nerve, causing vesicular lesions in the dermatome supplied by that nerve in about 25% of people who had chickenpox in their childhood. These lesions, known as Herpes zoster or shingles and it causes a painful eruption of a rash, usually unilaterally. It occurs more frequently in older adults and immunocompromised individuals (1). HZ afflicts millions of older adults worldwide and causes significant suffering because of acute and chronic pain, or postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) (2).
It is believed that the potential risk factors for HZ are aging and suppression of cellular immunity (1,2,3).
They treat HZ with topical application of Acyclovir 5% cream. In severe cases, they prescribe Acyclovir 800 mg 5 times daily for 7 to 10 days and, they recommend taking plenty of water along with medication (4). Therefore, it is for patients with normal cardiac and kidney function.
In this communication, we want to present a case of an older adult with HZ who managed with only topical acyclovir 5%. He could not take Acyclovir 800mg orally because he had to limit his water intake to just 1 to 1.5 liter because of his medication for the heart. The only option available to the patient was to increase his cellular immunity with Matily herbal drink (5).
Research paper at Global Journals:
Published by Global Journals
