When someone develops the painful condition known as shingles, it’s important to receive prompt medical attention. This can be done by going to a facility providing Urgent Care in Cincinnati OH. A shingles outbreak typically doesn’t constitute an emergency situation, so the person probably doesn’t need to go to the hospital for treatment. An urgent care facility sees patients without appointments and usually is open evenings and weekends in addition to regular business hours.
Only people who have had chickenpox at some point in their lives are susceptible to developing shingles. This condition is caused by the same virus, which continues to be dormant in the body after chickenpox has healed. It’s unclear why some individuals develop the second condition. People over the age of 50 are most likely to get shingles, but it can affect younger persons too.
Shingles appears as an itchy red rash that can be extremely painful and may erupt into blisters. Some patients also experience a fever, headache and flu-like symptoms. At a center for Urgent Care in Cincinnati OH health practitioners make a conclusive diagnosis of shingles, after which they provide antiviral medication and prescription painkillers. People recover from shingles without this medication, but they recover much more quickly once they take the antiviral drugs. In addition, the discomfort can be so debilitating that over-the-counter pain relief medications simply do not work.
Shingles, also pose the risk of severe complications involving nerve damage, making early medical treatment advise. Post-herpetic neuralgia affects some patients with shingles, and the pain can last for many months after the rash heals. Another serious problem can develop when shingles appears on the face, as it can affect the eyes.
For all these reasons, going to a facility such as Eastside Urgent Care at the first sign of shingles is important. A person over the age of 50 may decide to seek help at the first sign of an unexplained itchy rash, especially if it occurs on the torso or face, as those are the most common locations for shingles. People must keep in mind that there is no such thing as a “normal” rash with no apparent cause.
