Short message left eye swelling and pain

A few days ago, a 55-year-old woman from Chiayi went to the ophthalmology department for treatment because her left eye was red and swollen with foreign body sensation. At first, she thought she was suffering from conjunctivitis because of heavy work and lack of sleep. However, a few days later, the skin around the woman's left eye developed painful rashes and blisters, and her left eye developed a burning sensation and blurred vision. After the doctor diagnosed it, it was herpes zoster.

Wu Peilun, an ophthalmologist at Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital, said that herpes zoster, commonly known as "skin snake", is easy to be ignored because of its diverse initial symptoms, and the older generation is worried that the skin snake will be fatal after winding the nerve distribution. Fortunately, the 55-year-old woman's symptoms gradually improved after receiving antiviral treatment for a week, so her eyesight was not affected.

In addition, there will be unexplained tingling and numbness before the blisters on the skin come out. Dr. Wu Peilun pointed out that this is the pain caused by nerve inflammation. Even if the blisters disappear, the pain may last for more than three months, which is post-herpetic neuralgia. But not everyone will suffer from neuralgia clinically, which varies from person to person.

Once the eyes are infected by the virus, there will be headaches, conjunctivitis, keratitis and so on. Will appear. In severe cases, corneal ulceration and turbidity, oculomotor nerve paralysis, glaucoma and acute retinal necrosis will occur, leaving behind sequelae of impaired vision and possibly leading to blindness. So if you find blisters around your eyes, you must find an ophthalmologist for further examination as soon as possible.

Why do you get herpes zoster?

The cause of herpes zoster is that after chickenpox was cured as a child, chickenpox virus did not disappear but lurked in the sensory ganglion of human body. When immunity declines, the virus will be activated again, causing neuroinflammation and pain. The development process of herpes zoster is about 2 ~ 4 weeks, and rashes and blisters will grow on the skin along the nerves, resulting in the discomfort of neuralgia.

Although the nerves are distributed bilaterally, they each dominate one side, so herpes zoster will only infect one side of the nerve, and there will be almost no circles. Herpes zoster can appear in any part of the body. If it grows on the forehead, scalp, eyelids or nose, it may spread to the eyes because the virus has invaded the branch nerves of the eyes.

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Four or five days before the onset of herpes zoster, you will feel unwell or feverish, and then you will feel a burning sensation on one side of your chest, trunk or face. After that, groups of red papules will appear on the same side of the pain, which will soon become blisters and pustules, and then the blisters will dry and scab within a week.

In addition, the incidence of herpes zoster is high in middle age, and it is most likely to occur between 30 and 60 years old. Only about 10 ~ 15% of the cases are under 20 years old and over 70 years old. The incidence of patients with poor immunity, such as cancer, leukemia, lymphoma and diabetes, will also be higher than that of the general population.

What should I do if I have herpes zoster?

Most herpes zoster will recover automatically, and the golden period of taking antiviral drugs is within three days after symptoms appear, which can reduce the number of rashes, relieve pain and shorten the course of disease. If you take it three days after the rash and blisters appear, the effect will be even worse.

During the treatment, you can apply antibiotic ointment or wet compress with normal saline, but you must not puncture the blisters, and remember to keep the affected area clean to avoid bacterial infection; If the blister is accidentally broken, apply ointment according to the doctor's instructions, cover it with gauze and suck out the secretions from the wound.

If the pain invades your eyes, the most important thing is to see a doctor immediately! Dr. Wu Peilun said that local anti-inflammatory and antiviral drugs will be given according to the condition, and sometimes anti-glaucoma drugs will be used to reduce intraocular pressure, so as not to cause vision loss due to glaucoma. In addition, adequate rest, water and nutritional supplements help to improve immunity.

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/kloc-children over 0/2 months old should be vaccinated with varicella vaccine.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare provides free vaccination for children over 12 months old, and suggests that children over 4 to 6 years old can receive the second dose at their own expense. If there are children under 12 months at home, they should be isolated from herpes zoster patients. 13 years old or older, two doses can be vaccinated at their own expense, but it should be noted that allergic people, people with severe immune function and pregnant women cannot be vaccinated with varicella vaccine.