Herpes zoster in the eye is an acute herpetic disease of the eye caused by varicella zoster virus, which often "invades" the first or second branch of the trigeminal nerve.
After being "invaded", the skin of the trigeminal nerve distribution appears clustered herpes, accompanied by obvious neuralgia, conjunctivitis, keratitis and iridocyclitis. If the condition is serious, it will also affect the visual function.
People with low epidemic force
People who have had chickenpox will still be infected
Varicella zoster virus is very common. It is a kind of herpes virus. People who are first infected with varicella zoster virus usually get varicella.
Adults say that people only get chickenpox once in their life. Since shingles is caused by chickenpox zoster virus, is it safe for people who have had chickenpox? Not so. Although it can be said that chickenpox can generally obtain lifelong immunity, those with particularly low immunity may be infected with chickenpox zoster virus again.
Because after the first infection, the virus will lie dormant in the body and find a way to enter nerve cells before dormancy. When it reaches the late stage of its life or when human immune function declines, varicella zoster virus will be reactivated and cause herpes zoster.
This process may last for decades.
Postherpetic neuralgia
How to alleviate
It should be noted that herpes zoster will cause severe pain to patients. The more serious the disease is, the more painful it is. The older the patient is, the more painful it is. Most importantly, this kind of pain will not disappear with the elimination of symptoms. A few patients have neuralgia that lasts for more than 1 month, leaving behind postherpetic neuralgia.
Postherpetic neuralgia is the most serious complication of herpes zoster, which may last for 10 to 20 years. Severe cases can't sleep at night, especially in patients with ocular herpes zoster. Research suggests that the cause of this phenomenon is trigeminal nerve damage.
So, what should I do when there is pain in the area of herpes in the eye?
① Distract.
Because herpes zoster in the eye is mostly unilateral, patients can take a healthy lateral position, listen to music, watch TV, chat with friends, divert attention and reduce pain.
② Medication
It is mainly the use of antiviral drugs and anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs. Common antiviral drugs such as acyclovir, cytarabine, famciclovir and anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs such as erythromycin eye ointment and ibuprofen can all have a good therapeutic effect on patients' viral infection and pain symptoms.
After asking the doctor, you can choose the most appropriate drug according to the specific treatment plan to control the disease as soon as possible.
③ Local cleaning
When suffering from herpes zoster ophthalmicus, if the blister is not too close to the eyeball, you can consider using calamine lotion to clean the affected area to reduce the breeding of bacteria and relieve pain. But if the blister is broken, don't wash it!
④ Nerve injection
If the condition is serious and the pain is heavy, you can consider injecting drugs to improve the pain. Gamma globulin can also be injected into muscle to enhance immunity, which can accelerate the recovery of the disease and reduce complications.
In addition, to deal with herpes zoster in the eye, other postoperative care is also very important.
① Diet
We should eat some high calorie, high protein, high vitamin, light and digestible food. At the same time, we can also eat some foods that nourish the liver and kidney, such as pig liver, sheep liver, medlar and jujube. Don't eat spicy and greasy things, such as ginger, pepper, beef and mutton, fat meat, fried food, etc.
② With eyes
Pay attention to eye hygiene. Don't stay in dark places for a long time. If there is tingling, photophobia and tears, you need to be alert to corneal damage. You should always have Sunglasses around you and wear them when you go out to avoid eye irritation caused by strong light.
③ Daily
You can't take a bath recently after the operation. Wash your hair and face, and wipe them with a wet towel. We should strengthen outdoor exercise, enhance the body's immunity and combine work and rest, but we should avoid overwork and prevent colds.
④ The elderly are often accompanied by other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, and should be instructed to avoid various incentives after discharge, and strengthen the continuous treatment of the original diseases.
Extended reading
According to a recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's disease, herpes simplex virus is related to the increased risk of Alzheimer's disease: researchers found that varicella zoster virus may activate another common herpes simplex virus, thereby starting the early stage of Alzheimer's disease.