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Facts on Shingles

An episode of shingles can last for up to a month.

In this article:

What is shingles?

Symptoms

Causes

Diagnosis

Effect on your life

Treatment

How Chemist Online can help

Advice & Support

What is shingles?
Shingles can be a very painful health condition. It usually affects people over 50 years of age.

If you have had chickenpox in childhood, it is possible that the chickenpox virus has ‘stayed in your system’ lying dormant for years, but has then been reactivated in later life – causing shingles to develop (please see Symptoms section below).

About chickenpox: Chickenpox is a red rash which can appear on most areas of the body – after infection. It is uncommon for an adult or child to have chickenpox more than once.

Once infected by the chickenpox virus – the varicella-zoster virus – a nasty rash develops which may leave scabs.

As well as chickenpox, other health conditions/diseases which weaken the immune system (e.g., HIV/AIDS) can cause shingles to develop.

Symptoms
Symptoms of shingles include:

A tingling, burning sensation to the skin – usually down one side of the body (the chest, abdomen, trunk…)

A nasty, painful red rash in the form of a band (this develops after a few days and affects the aforementioned skin areas where the burning sensation has developed).

Nerve pain in the face

Arm and leg pains

Feverish symptoms

Headache

A general feeling of being unwell and having aches and pains

Swollen lymph nodes (these can feel tender as they become enlarged)

Causes
Shingles is caused by a virus called the varicella-zoster virus – the same virus that causes chickenpox. Once your childhood episode of chickenpox has passed, the varicella-zoster virus remains in your system, ‘sitting’ in the nerve cells of your spinal chord for the rest of your life until, for some reason, your immune system becomes weakened, and shingles develops.

You are at greater risk of having shingles if you are elderly, have had cancer treatment, drink alcohol excessively, smoke, or are under extreme stress for some reason (due to problems at home, or through being under constant pressure to achieve a sales target at work, for example).

Diagnosis
If you are suffering from the aforementioned symptoms, arrange an appointment with your GP immediately. They will take your medical history, ask you some questions about your symptoms, and then carry out a short physical examination (inspection of your rash).

It is highly unlikely that any kind of test will need to be made. However, if attaining a confirmed diagnosis proves difficult, then the shingles virus can be diagnosed through a blood test.

Once a confirmed diagnosis is made, an appropriate treatment will then be recommended to you.

Note: If your GP is concerned about the impact shingles is having upon your eyes, you may be referred to an ophthalmologist to ensure that your vision is not permanently impaired.

Effect on your life
After having shingles you may be left with slightly pockmarked skin in the affected area. This is where the red rash spots have developed into blisters and then flaked off over time.

If you have shingles you will probably have to take time off work until your symptoms have completely cleared up.

Some people with shingles suffer long-term eye problems as a result of developing the condition.

Treatment
Shingles is treated with antiviral medication.

To ease the itchiness of the shingles rash, it can be a good idea to try calamine lotion.

How Chemist Online can help
Through this website we have a range of treatments available to buy which can help ease headaches, fever and aches and pains – associated symptoms of shingles.

www.chemistonline.co.uk

Advice & Support
Shingles Support Society
Helpline: 0845 123 2305
Website: www.herpes.org.uk/shingles

This information and advice is not intended to replace the advice of your GP or chemist. Chemist Online is also not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based upon the content of the Chemist Online website. Chemist Online is also not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites.

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Project evaluation

Evaluation of projects

The principle of efficiency determination is in comparing of the analyzed indicator with the base value. The following indicators are used for evaluation of projects:

net present value (NPV);
internal rate of return (IRR);
profitability index (PI);
rate of (price) change (ROC);
payback period (PP).
NPV

This indicator is calculated as the difference between the investment and the current value of payments. NPV eliminates the time factor. If the net present value is > 0- the project is profitable; it is equal to 0, a volume increase will not boost profits; if it is < 0 the project is unprofitable.

NPV is an absolute indicator. Its value is strongly influenced by the original investment amount and allocation of costs` structure. The more costs in subsequent periods are, the greater the sum of the net provided income will be. Therefore, the high value of this indicator does not always mean more effective investment.

IRR

This coefficient characterizes the maximum cost of the investment (expenditure), which may be incurred in the framework of the project. If funding is obtained by means of bank loans, the value of IRR indicates the upper bound of the services` rate. In case of its exceeding, the project will be unprofitable. Economic sense: the company can make decisions, the profitability of which exceeds the current cost-CC: if the profitability rate is > !!- the project is profitable; if the profitability rate is < CC- the project is unprofitable, it should be rejected; if the profitability rate is = CC- the project is lossless, but it will not bring profit.

PI

The indicator “profitability index” is relative. It displays net cash flow- to-costs ratio. Due to this advantage, the indicator can be used for comparative assessment of different projects identifiable by the volume of initial investment. The profitability index should also be used to identify and exclude inefficient projects still pending.

Projects with a higher profitability index are more steady. However, do not forget that the great values of the coefficient do not always correspond to the level of net present value and vice versa.

ROC

ROC shows how the price is changed now compared to the period “N” in the past. It can be presented in points or as a percentage.

PP

The period during which the funds in an amount to compensate the initial investment will arrive, is called payback period. It is measured in months and years. As soon as the payback period comes, NPV becomes positive.

The decision about investing in the project is taken based on the above-mentioned indicators.

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Plan Your Travel Within Budget With the Help of Travel Guides

Several websites have been created as platforms that provide tons of information for travellers to plan every detail of their trip. However practically it may prove very time consuming to actually sort relevant information.

Therefore Planned Traveller has been created to provide to the point concise details of every city along with complete prices and budget indications. The travellers can plan their trip either independently or take the help of the city guides provided on the website. The city guides help in budget calculations and assist in planning a detailed itinerary based on individual tastes and preferences. The website also plans to start customizing travel and holiday packages that will be prepared by its team of experts. There will be a complete breakup of every component of the trip beginning with hotels, food, local transport and transfers as well as sightseeing trips and tours/activities. Each of the components is competitively priced with comparative price quotes provided by trusted online service providers. The website aims to connect to those people who like freedom in planning and are not willing to travel as per pre designed packages offered by innumerable travelagents. Our target audience are those who are open to ideas and are flexible in exploring different places, tourist spots, trying out new cuisines, experiencing new cultures and exploring foreign lands as locals and not tourists.

There are travel guides for over 50 cities across the globe including destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, Europe and North America. For people interested in travelling to North America, Las Vegas on west coast and New York on the east coast are major tourist attractions.

Las Vegas is famous for being the largest adult playground in the world with gambling and entertainment being its biggest draws. Everything in Las Vegas is built in grand and spectacularstyle. Some of the best Las Vegas attractions include Imitation of the Sphinx, which is a three dimensional silhouette of New York City complete with Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty, Bellagio Fountains, Stratosphere Tower, Shark Reef, Madame Tussauds and Adventuredome which stands out to be one of the major attractions of the city. Gambling was also made legal in the year 1931 in the barren desert state of Nevada. All these attractions ensure about 40 million visitors every year. For people who want to visit New York, the New York travel guide helps you in identifying all the important tourist spots in the city like Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, the Hudson river, Central Park, Timesquare, hit Broadway shows and of course haute couture shopping at 5th Avenue. The travel guide helps you travel to New York on a budget that can be customized depending on your travel style. You can decide exactly which hotel locations, restaurants and attractions fit into your budget and ways and means to get discounts by booking these in advance.

People interested in travelling to the United Kingdom or London can take the help of London travel guide which also helps you plan your travel within your specified budget and also ensures that you cover all the important places of interest in London. The Double Decker buses, the Royal family, high-tea, big Ben, the Tube, bangers and mash are some of the things that will give you an idea what London is all about. London is a great place for history buffs, art geeks, foodies, fashionistas and others. London caters to the varied tastes of people and entertains round the clock every day.

Check out the best London travel guide, helps to provide suggestions and ideas regarding hotels, food and drink specialities, local transport, must see attractions, travel budget estimates and unique travel tips for each day. For more details about London attractions, Please visit us http://www.plannedtraveller.com/destination-travel-guides/europe/united-kingdom/london/

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