In this article, we’ll discuss the connection between HIV and shingles.
Alex Levine / Getty Images
What Is Shingles?
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a condition that develops in people who have hadchickenpox.
Alex Levine / Getty Images
After someone gets chickenpox, typically during childhood, the virus lies dormant in the nerves.
Later on, the virus can reactivate and cause shingles.
Shingles may indicate a weakened immune system since the body can usually keep the virus from reactivating.
Sometimes shingles can also lead toherpes zoster ophthalmicus(HZO).
This happens when varicella-zoster is reactivated in the nerves in the eye area.
It usually occurs in a single stripe.
What Is the Connection to HIV?
HIV targets the immune system by depleting it of itsCD4 T lymphocytes (CD4 cells).
A person with a compromised immune system is more susceptible to getting shingles.
This includes people with untreated HIV and stage 3 HIV.
These include:
Treatment
People with HIV who get shingles typically need specific treatment.
In some cases, hospitalization may be necessary.
This is due to a mechanism called immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, or IRIS.
This is known as immune restoration syndrome.
Shingles points to a weakened immune system.
It has also been linked as a potential early sign of HIV.
Those with HIV are more prone to developing shingles, as well as experiencing shingles-related complications.
However, people without any particular immunocompromising condition can also get shingles.
See your doctor immediately if you have HIV and suspect shingles to avoid complications.
Quick, effective treatment is vital to controlling the course of shingles.
Brahe C, Ellis R.Got shingles?
Severe shingles as first presenting infection in HIV/AIDS patient.IDCases.
2020;19:e00725.
2012;61(2):203-207. doi:10.1097/QAI.0b013e318266cd3c
HIV.info.NIH.gov.HIV Treatment.
HIV.gov.Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What Everyone Should Know about the Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix).
