Cover reporter Zhou Jiayi
According to the data of the seventh national census, as of November 1, 2020, the number of elderly people aged 60 and above in my country has reached 264 million, and the population aging has reached 264 million. 18.7%. Faced with the intensification of aging, the health problems of the elderly have attracted much attention. From July 25th to July 31st this year, the National Health Promotion Week for the Elderly was organized by the General Office of the National Health Commission and the Office of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Due to the relatively poor nutritional status of the elderly, various senile skin diseases are more and more common due to various reasons such as aging, skin aging, immune aging and underlying diseases. Disease, it is easy to find the elderly, but it has not received enough attention and attention.
Professor Ran Yuping, Chairman of the Dermatology and Venereal Disease Committee of Sichuan Medical Association (2006-2016), and Professor Ran Yuping, Department of Dermatology and Venereal Diseases, West China Hospital, reminded that it is the height of summer, and many elderly people will suffer from skin diseases. Red and itchy skin caused by external UV exposure, and mosquito bites are also a big problem due to wearing less exposure to the outdoors. At the same time, the elderly have poor resistance, low immunity, and are prone to fungal infections. The common ones are athlete’s foot, toenail fungus, etc. In addition, the most common and most easily affected skin disease in the elderly is herpes zoster.
Professor Ran Yuping, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, West China Hospital
Herpes zoster is an infectious skin disease caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus that has been latent in the spinal dorsal root ganglion or cranial ganglia for a long time. More than 90% of adults are latent in the body. Chickenpox-shingles virus. Ran Yuping introduced that one virus (varicella-zoster virus) can cause two diseases (varicella, shingles) and three states (varicella, shingles and disseminated shingles). The primary infection mainly causes chickenpox, which usually occurs in childhood. If you have chickenpox as a child, some people have always had a strong immune system and may not develop shingles for the rest of their lives, but some people’s immunity will decline. So whether you will get shingles after chickenpox depends on your immunity, and when you get the disease depends on your immunity at a certain age. Some people have latent infection, that is, they are infected with the varicella-zoster virus, but they do not develop the disease. The virus is latent in the dorsal root ganglia or cranial ganglia for a long time, so they may also get shingles later if they have not had chickenpox. herpes. “
Ran Yuping emphasized that age is the most important risk factor for herpes zoster. For patients with chronic underlying diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic diseases Increased risk of herpes zoster; people with immunocompromised immune system diseases, tumors, use of immunosuppressive drugs, etc., are more likely to develop herpes zoster.
Herpes zoster is commonly known as “leonards”, “snakes” Waist wrapping”, which often occurs on the chest and back, neck, head, face, and waist. The typical symptom is a rash distributed along the nerves on one side of the body. Ran Yuping said that there is a folk saying that “waist wrapping dragon” “One circle will kill you”, this is wrong. Generally speaking, shingles will develop along that side if one side is affected. If the other side is affected, it may also develop to the other side, and both sides will develop at the same time. The probability is not very high. If the disease is bilateral, the disease is more serious, but it is not that bilateral disease will lead to death. Disseminated herpes zoster is not limited to local, but systemic disease, usually with particularly low immunity. Crowd. In addition to skin lesions, pain is also the most basic symptom of herpes zoster, which is mostly paroxysmal or persistent. Even if the erythema and blisters on the skin disappear, neuralgia will still accompany the patient, and even persist for many years. Postherpetic neuralgia is called postherpetic neuralgia, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients.
So far, the treatment methods for herpes zoster include antiviral, analgesic, symptomatic treatment, etc. The curative effect is limited, so prevention is better than treatment. Ran Yuping said that many people are confident that they are in good health and will not get shingles, but in fact, the risk increases with age. The elderly should maintain a balanced diet and moderate exercise in their daily lives. , Adjust the mood, get enough sleep, and improve your own immunity. In addition, the injection of shingles vaccine is also an effective measure to specifically prevent the onset of shingles. “The elderly should enjoy the results of the entire development of the country, first of all It is necessary to maintain a good physical condition, prevent diseases as early as possible, take the initiative to be healthy, and effectively improve your own health literacy and health level. ”
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