More on the Immune System

Yesterday I talked a little about the immune system. There are some viruses which do not get completely killed off by the immune system. One of the most common is the virus that causes chicken pox - Varicella virus. You may know this virus by its more common name shingles or herpes zoster. If you had chicken pox, you will not have it again, but the virus usually lies dormant in your body, waiting for a time when the immune system becomes compromised so that it can take hold.

This usually happens latter in life, but can happen any time that the immune system becomes compromised. Today we are seeing more of this in younger people because of the stress of our lives. For more on stress, visit a site about conquering stress by clicking here.

When the virus emerges, it attaches itself to the nerves and basically what you end up with is a viral infection that follows the nerve routes. Diagnostic of this virus is the fact that it will only present on one side of the body.