How Shingles Can Affect Your Eye
Shingles is the term we use to describe a condition that is caused by a re-activation of the Herpes Varicella-Zoster virus. The origin of this infection usually goes way back to childhood with a disease we know as chickenpox.
When you have a chickenpox infection your immune system manages to eventually suppress that virus from causing an active infection, but the virus does not get completely eliminated from your body–it is able to go and hide in your nerve roots.
Your immune system manages to keep the virus in check for most of your life but there may come a time in adulthood when your immune system is not working as well as it used to, and the virus can reappear. It usually does this along the distribution of a single sensory nerve called a dermatome.
The most common area for this to occur is along your trunk (chest or abdomen) but it is also commonly found on the face.
There are three branches of nerves that supply sensation to your face. They are all branches […]