Herpes zoster refers to an acute herpetic dermal disease caused by varicella-zoster virus, clinically characterized by a cluster of blisters distributed like a belt along one side of the body, similar to a snake shape, and serious pain. Clinically, those with primary infection (without immunity) are manifested by chickenpox or insidious infection. When virus enters the cutaneous sensory neural endings, it moves toward the center along neural fibers and is persistently latent in the neurons of ganglions on the posterior spinal neural roots. When the immune function of the host cell subsides, for instance in menstruation, some infectious diseases (common cold), malignant tumors, traumatic injury, radiotherapy, some medications (such as arsenic, stibium, immune inhibitor) and overstrain, etc., virus is activated to cause the attacked ganglion inflamed and necrotic, leading to neuralgia. Continue to read Chinese medicine Treatment for Herpes Zoster.
Virus migrates along the peripheral nerve fiber to the skin to present segmental herpes. This disease gives a life-long immune and recurs occasionally. This disease belongs to the category of "Snake Boil" and "Fire Blisters along the Lumbus" in Chinese medicine. The onset is often caused by internal pathogenic dampness due to internal accumulation of dampness and heat in the liver meridian or failure of the spleen in transportation and invasion of exogenous toxins and transmission of pathogenic dampness and heat to the skin along the meridian, and also by obstruction in the meridians. If the anti-pathogenic ability becomes deficient and qi and blood are stagnant, pain can last continuously.
