There are a lot of people who suffer from cold sores. Cold sores are also known as fever blisters. It is common for cold sores to appear on the mouth or in that area. However, there are cases when cold sores appear in different places, like the nose or even a forehead.
Herpes zoster ophthalmicus
There are a lot of people who suffer from this condition. In most cases of herpes zoster ophthalmicus it is the people who are older than 60 years of age who are affected by it. However, even children can be affected by it but these cases are rare.The main characteristic of this condition are typical vesicular or bullous eruption of the forehead. It is not uncommon for the eruption to be in unilateral fashion. The blisters that occur when a person is affected by this condition are pretty similar to those which occur in cases of chickenpox. However, the difference is that in case of herpes zoster, the painful eruptions are usually limited to no more than one dermatome.Apart from the eruption of bullous, a person suffering from herpes zoster will also suffer from fever, headache and abnormal sensations that that occur before the blisters. People should know that it will take about ten days for the eruptions to evolve into crusts.
It is not hard for the doctors to diagnose that a person is suffering from HZO. The main reason is because of the other causes of blisters that are included like viral infections or hypersensitivity reactions.There are some diseases that people usually mistake for HZO and they are herpes simplex, contact dermatitis, cellulitis and erythema multiforme. The pain is what usually set HZO apart from other diseases.
Complications
Eye complications are pretty common when a person is suffering from HZO. In most cases HZO may result in paralytic ptosis, conjunctivitis, keratitis, cataracts, glaucoma, retinitis and optic neuritis.Apart from eye complications, neurological complications are possible as well. The most common neurological complication that may occur is postherpetic neuralgia. Apart from this one, other complications like encenphalitis and myelitis are also possible.
Treatment
According to the experts, 50% of all patients with HZO have a chance of eye complications and that is why it is important to treat the problem as soon as it occurs.Antiviral drugs are mainly prescribed and the patients should take them within the 72 hours of physical presentation. Systemic corticosteroids are used in order for the postherpetic neuralgia to be prevented. There are also pain therapies for PHN.
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