Can the Foot Pain Be the Varicella Zoster (Shingles)?

Abstract

Shingles is one of the two different clinical presentations of infection of VZV which is a DNA virus. Humans are a known reservoir for the Varicella zoster virus (VZV). It is very contagious. The virus that remains latent after infection in childhood and can be reactive due to various reasons (immune system suppression, old age, stress factors, etc.). It involves various dermatomes after reactivation. Varicella-zoster appears mostly on thoracic, cervical, and ophthalmic dermatomes. Rarely, it is located in the upper and lower extremity dermatomes. In this study; 7 patients with shingles on the foot and sole were examined. It was aimed to emphasize that varicella zoster (zona) may be the cause of foot pain in patients presenting to the emergency department with complaints such as pain, burning and inability to step on standing, and to review the age, gender, underlying factors of the zona cases which are not previously mentioned in the literature