dermatology
7 October 2020 – 19:38
The condition affecting the skin and nerves caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus. Beware of the appearance of redness with liquid blisters usually on the chest.
of Antonella Sparvoli
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In medical jargon it is called Herpes zoster, but in Italy most people know it as St. Anthony’s Fire, infectious disease, sometimes very insidious, which targets nerves and skin and caused by reactivation of the chickenpox virus. How does it develop? After recovery from chickenpox, an infectious disease that most people overcome in childhood, the varicella-zoster virus (like all herpetic viruses) is not completely eliminated, but remains confined, inactive, in the nerve ganglia of the sensory nerves. he explains Professor Carlo Gelmetti, director of pediatric dermatology of the Irccs Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan. However, it may happen that after some time, the virus awakens due to a weakening of the immune system, as can happen with the advancing age, or for the use of certain immunosuppressive drugs o, yet, following environmental stress (too hot, too cold, too much sun) or emotional. The reactivated virus multiplies and it goes up along the peripheral nerve bundle until it reaches the skin innervated by this nerve, area called in technical terms dermatome.
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Infographic: Mirco Tangherlini
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7 October 2020 | 19:38
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