Medicare Nation

Welcome Medicare Nation! Today we’re talking about Shingles. I recently had shingles and my eyes were opened to how painful it is. It’s really a terribly painful illness, so I wanted to give you some facts and tips to help you diagnose your symptoms early.         What is Shingles?   A virus that is a type of herpes zoster virus. You can only get shingles if you’ve had chicken pox. The virus stays dormant in your spine and attach itself to some of the nerves in your spine. Then something comes along and activates it when you have a lower immune system. If you are on auto-immune suppressing drugs, you are more susceptible to the virus.   Increased stress can also trigger an outbreak of shingles.       What are the symptoms?   A blistery rash that generally starts around your back and wraps around your side. I got a blister on the palm of my hand. About a week before the outbreak, you can begin having pain from the nerve endings being affected.    Patches of blisters will grow and then they are painful. You can