My 18 year old son was recently told that he has herpes although he has never been sexually active. He has a rash on his upper leg that circles his entire upper leg. He has shingles, which is herpes simplex and it is not caught from one person to another. However, you do need to stay away from anyone who has not had chicken pox or the shot. Shingles is caused from being stressed out and very upset to the point that a nerve comes to the surface and literally burns out which causes the red rash. It is very painful and it circles the area where the nerve goes and then ends. He can get it again if he is subject to being nervous or upset. I have had shingles so many times I now have permanent symptoms in my face, which is numbness and tingling. The sexual herpes is a different type altogether and is caught from one to another and cannot be cured. There are medications for shingles, but they do not do too much for the problem. You just have to wait it out. The symptoms usually last up to four weeks. Go to webMD and get a 2nd opinon. It sounds like he has shingles, because genital herpes is only in the genital area.
Check out the links below for some more info. Good luck! Herpes usually centers around the mouth or the genitals. Not on the leg. This does not sound like Herpes, get a second opinion from a Dermatologist. First of all, herpes zoster is not caused by chicken pox, it causes chicken pox. Shingles are also caused by the herpes zoster virus. Here this is an article from wikipedia:
This is about Herpes Zoster
Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation of varicella zoster virus, leading to a crop of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome. In Italy and in Malta, it is sometimes referred to as St. Anthony's fire. It occurs very rarely in children and adults, but its incidence is high in the elderly (over 60), as well as in any age group of immunocompromised patients. It affects some 500,000 people per year in the United States. Treatment is generally with antiviral drugs such as aciclovir. Many patients develop a painful condition called postherpetic neuralgia which is often difficult to manage.
In some patients, herpes zoster can reactivate subclinically with pain in a dermatomal distribution without rash. This condition is known as zoster sine herpete and may be more complicated, affecting multiple levels of the nervous system and causing multiple cranial neuropathies, polyneuritis, myelitis, or aseptic meningitis.
The word herpes comes from the Greek word for snake; it is cognate with herpetology. Interestingly, the skin disease is also commonly known as "snake" in Chinese.
Here is an article on herpes:
The herpes simplex virus (HSV) (also known as Cold Sore, Night Fever, or Fever Blister) is a virus that manifests itself in two common viral infections, each marked by painful, watery blisters in the skin or mucous membranes (such as the mouth or lips) or on the genitals. The disease is contagious, particularly during an outbreak, and is incurable with present technology. An infection on the lips is commonly known as a "cold sore" or "fever blister," though this should not be confused with a canker sore, which appears inside the mouth and is not caused by the herpes simplex virus. Of the eight known types of HSV, the two most common are type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2). HSV-1 is more common and generally considered to be associated with orofacial infection, usually the lips. This type of infection is more easily acquired in part because of its exposed location. It is generally considered (but isn't) a less serious infection. HSV-2 is associated with the infection of the genitals, although both types can affect either region. HSV-2 infection is of particular concern because of the largely asymptomatic nature of the infection, and the shedding of infective virions even in asymptomatic individuals. In men, the lesions may occur on the shaft of the penis, in the genital region, on the inner thigh, buttocks, or anus. In women, lesions may occur on or near the pubis, labia, clitoris, vulva, buttocks, or anus. This may require a very careful examination e.g. during delivery, examination by use of a flashlight may be necessary.
The appearance of herpes lesions and the experience of outbreaks in these areas varies tremendously among individuals. Herpes lesions on/near the genitals may look like cold sores. An outbreak may look like a paper cut, or chafing, or appear to be a yeast infection. Symptoms of a genital outbreak may include aches and pains in the area, discharge from the penis or vagina, and discomfort when urinating.
Initial outbreaks are usually more severe than subsequent ones, and generally also involve flu-like symptoms and swollen glands for a week or so. Subsequent outbreaks tend to be periodic or episodic, typically occur four to five times a year, and can be triggered by stress, illness, fatigue, menstruation, and other changes. The virus sequesters in the nerve ganglia that serve the infected dermatome during non-eruptive periods, where it cannot be conventionally eliminated by the body's immune system.
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Herpes simplex encephalitis (generally HSV 1)
Herpesviral encephalitis ICD-10 B00.4, G05.1
ICD-9 054.3
Herpes simplex encephalitis is a very serious disorder, thought to be caused by the retrograde transmission of the virus from a peripheral site to the central nervous system along a nerve axon. It is known that the virus lies dormant in the ganglion of the trigeminal or fifth cranial nerve. The reason for reactivation remains unclear. It has also been proposed that the olfactory nerve may be involved[3]. Without treatment, it results in rapid death in around 70% of cases. Even with the best modern treatment, it is fatal in around 20% of cases, and causes serious long-term neurological damage in over half the survivors. Again, for unknown reasons the virus seems to target the temporal lobes of the brain. A small population of survivors, perhaps 20%, show little long-term damage. It is most common in children and middle-aged adults. Although herpes simplex is by no means the most common cause of viral encephalitis (accounting for about 10% of cases in the US), because of the high risk associated with it if it is not treated, patients presenting with encephalitis symptoms are likely to be treated against this disorder without waiting for a positive diagnosis.
The virus usually infects through the mouth and enters the nucleus during the first 7 days, and will remain latent for 10 days to 100 years, and will then reactivate from common stress, fever, or a sunburn. The virus will soon be contagious through more cold sores, and the disease will start to attack the brain. <--- Sorry 'bout that part.
Hope it was enough info. Good luck Shingles shows up (on occasion) in a line of red bumps that look like bug bites that can be painful, itchy or both. The best thing to do is not to touch it and take him to the hospital. As both forms of herpes are contagious when the sores are open. |
