Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which first enters the body as chickenpox and never leaves.
The virus stays dormant in sensory nerve roots, and in about one-third of individuals reactivates later in life as shingles. It often appears as an angry red rash on the torso, but about 20 percent of cases show up in the eye area on one side of the face -- typically with redness on and around the eyelid, and sometimes on the forehead and scalp.
According to research, these cases of shingles on the eye are on the rise.
James Chodosh, MD, MPH, joins Dr. Roizen to discuss the shingles virus, why it can be dangerous when manifesting in the eye, and how you can prevent it.
Bonus
How Your Blood Type Affects Your Disease Risk
Selected Podcast
EP 956B - Why Shingles of the Eye Cases Are on the Rise
Featuring:
James Chodosh, MD, MPH
James Chodosh, MD, MPH, is the David G. Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology in the Field of Cornea and External Disease at Harvard Medical School, Vice Chair for Education, Department of Ophthalmology, Associate Director of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at Mass. Eye and Ear, Associate Director of the Infectious Disease Institute at Mass. Eye & Ear, Harvard Medical School, Director of Boston Keratoprosthesis at Mass. Eye and Ear, Director of the Ocular Burn Service at Mass. Eye and Ear, and Co-Director of Education and Fellowship Training for the Harvard Cornea Service.He completed his residency in Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, clinical fellowship in Corneal Diseases at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Florida, research postdoctoral fellowship in Virology & Molecular Biology and Infectious Diseases at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and Masters of Public Health degree with a concentration in Biostatistics at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.
He received the Career Development, Lew R. Wasserman, Physician Scientist, and Senior Scientific Investigator Awards from Research to Prevent Blindness, and the Alcon Research Institute Award. He served as Chair of the Anterior Eye Disease Study Section for the National Institutes of Health and subsequently served on the National Advisory Eye Council. Dr. Chodosh has published over 275 peer reviewed papers and book chapters on various aspects of science and medicine, and personally trained over 60 clinical cornea fellows.
His primary clinical interests include medical and surgical treatment of infectious and neoplastic disorders of the ocular surface, the longitudinal care of patients affected by chemical injury and Stevens Johnson syndrome, and the visual restoration of seemingly hopeless cases of corneal blindness with the Boston keratoprosthesis. His research on ocular adenovirus infections has been funded continuously by the NIH since 1996.
He received the Career Development, Lew R. Wasserman, Physician Scientist, and Senior Scientific Investigator Awards from Research to Prevent Blindness, and the Alcon Research Institute Award. He served as Chair of the Anterior Eye Disease Study Section for the National Institutes of Health and subsequently served on the National Advisory Eye Council. Dr. Chodosh has published over 275 peer reviewed papers and book chapters on various aspects of science and medicine, and personally trained over 60 clinical cornea fellows.
His primary clinical interests include medical and surgical treatment of infectious and neoplastic disorders of the ocular surface, the longitudinal care of patients affected by chemical injury and Stevens Johnson syndrome, and the visual restoration of seemingly hopeless cases of corneal blindness with the Boston keratoprosthesis. His research on ocular adenovirus infections has been funded continuously by the NIH since 1996.
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