Time now for our "Life & Info" segment... where we focus on information useful for your everyday life.<br />The summer heat is fading, …and mornings and evenings are cool with the fall winds.<br />With the wide daily temperature range weakening immune systems, conditions like shingles are on the rise.<br />Park Se-young has more.<br />A painful rash that turns into itchy blisters.<br />This is the most common symptom of shingles, …caused by the same virus responsible for chicken pox.<br />The virus remains hidden in the body of a person who has had chicken pox …and becomes reactivated when the immune system is weakened.<br />And the body's immune system tends to weaken during seasonal changes, …which come with big differences between the daily high and low temperatures.<br /><br />The painful rash can appear almost anywhere on the body, but it most commonly affects the torso and the face.<br />Before the rash develops, there can be other symptoms like muscle aches and burning on the skin.<br />Blisters from the rash usually scab over after a week and clear up within two to four weeks.<br />However, even if the rash has disappeared, …the accompanying pain can get worse due to neural damage.<br />Depending on the affected area, the virus can also result in meningitis, blindness and facial paralysis.<br />This is why people with the symptoms of shingles must get diagnosed and treated within 72 hours.<br />Shingles requires anti-viral medication and nerve blocks to manage the pain.<br /><br />Shingles can occur in anyone who has had chicken pox, …and it is especially prevalent in older adults.<br />Those over 50 years of age or with weakened immune systems are recommended to get a shingles vaccine.<br />Children and adults who have never had chicken pox should receive two doses of the chicken pox vaccine.<br />And because shingles is on the rise among younger adults, experts recommend that people stay fit by exercising, and that they avoid overworking and stress.<br />Park Se-young, Arirang News.<br />
