Shingles is a painful skin problem associated with the chickenpox virus. If you had chickenpox at some time in your life, you could possibly develop shingles later, at any stage of your life. The likelihood of this happening increases as you age.

Sometimes you don’t even have to suffer through a bout of chickenpox to later develop shingles. If you have been administered the chickenpox vaccine, no matter how many years or decades ago, you currently have the virus in your body which can awaken and cause shingles to develop.

What Exactly is Shingles?

To be specific, shingles is a skin condition caused by the varicellar zoster virus. That is the same virus which causes chickenpox, sometimes called herpes zoster or simply the zoster virus. If you contract chickenpox, the varicellar zoster virus never leaves your body. Continue reading →

As you can probably tell by the name of this condition, it is typified by relentless movement of the legs. This can happen while awake or asleep, whether you are lying down, standing or sitting.

Your doctor will diagnose you with RLS after talking to you about your symptoms. If you have an uncomfortable feeling like “pins and needles” in your legs, or feel like something is crawling on your skin, these are also classic RLS symptoms.

In mild cases, you may be able to live your entire life with restless leg syndrome without seeking the help of a medical professional. In severe cases, this condition can dramatically and significantly damage your quality of life.

Whether you have heard of RLS or not, it is rather common, occurring in about 10% of the population. This issue is more frequently found in women than men, it can affect children as well as adults, and is most commonly diagnosed in people who have passed middle-age. Continue reading →