Careful! This common virus puts your patients at risk
The chickenpox virus remains in the sleeping body, but can become active again causing herpes and other serious diseases.
Copy Experience October 13, 2018 No Comments Have you ever heard that there are people who contract the chickenpox virus more than once in their life? This is not common, but it is possible. In reality, the virus that causes chickenpox never leaves the body, as it remains in a “dormant” state. Years later it manifests itself in the form of herpes or skin ulcers. Chickenpox is a viral infection that causes the person infected by the virus with blisters all over the body that are very itchy. The virus that causes chickenpox is the varicella zoster virus, which is a member of the herpesvirus family, the same virus that also causes shingles in adults. Scientists have not yet discovered how this virus is activated again, but they have already found the relationship between these manifestations and other serious diseases. A study conducted by members of the Department of Infectious Diseases in Seoul, South Korea, revealed that herpes can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Research on the virus The research was carried out by monitoring 520 thousand patients over a period of 10 years. During that time, there were 23,233 cases of herpes that were compared with another 23,213 cases in which this virus did not manifest itself. The group most affected by herpes was elderly women, with higher blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. All of these conditions are common risk factors for heart attacks and strokes. In cases of herpes (which is a manifestation of the chickenpox virus), the combined risk of heart attacks and strokes was found to be 41 p or percent higher. The separate risks were: • 35 percent greater risk of stroke. • 59 percent more likely to experience heart attacks. There was also a higher risk for people under 40 years of age and there was a higher risk during the 12 months following a herpes diagnosis. Despite discovering a relationship, scientists still have pending research to find the exact reasons for this link. If you want advice on this and other topics, click here.
