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How Do I Recognize the Symptoms of Shingles?

Clara Kedrek
Clara Kedrek

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful skin condition that occurs due to the reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. It is most often recognized by a blister-like skin rash that appears in specific patterns on the body. Symptoms of this rash can include pain, burning, itchiness, and tingling. Patients with recurrent bouts of shingles might be able to recognize some symptoms before the skin lesions appear. Others experience prolonged pain at the site of the skin lesions for months or years.

The most obvious of the symptoms of shingles is the skin rash that it causes. Affected patients have eruptions of raised, pus-filled lesions. This rash can be red and painful. Initially the rash resembles blisters, but after these lesions burst the underlying area becomes crusted with a yellowish scab.

Shingles is characterized by blisters and a rash, which usually appear on one side of the face or on the upper torso.
Shingles is characterized by blisters and a rash, which usually appear on one side of the face or on the upper torso.

Rashes associated with shingles often appear in a certain pattern on the skin. They are said to have a dermatomal pattern, which means that they affect an area of the skin that gets its sensation from one specific nerve. This distribution occurs because shingles represents a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus that had been lying dormant in the root of the nerve. The dermatomal pattern of shingles often only affects a strip of skin on one side of the body. Although the most common location is on the lateral or posterior chest wall, any area of the body could theoretically be affected.

Shingles can cause skin infections, as well as vision loss.
Shingles can cause skin infections, as well as vision loss.

Other symptoms of shingles involve the pain and discomfort associated with the rash. The pain can be sharp, tingling, or burning in nature. Some patients develop a symptom called allodynia, which is feeling severe pain after lightly touching the rash. The pain felt by the patient is significantly out of proportion to the stimulus that triggered it. Other patients experience itchiness at the site of the rash, and if they scratch enough that the underlying skin is broken they can put themselves at risk for bacterial infection.

The vaccine for shingles is particularly recommended for adults over the age of 60.
The vaccine for shingles is particularly recommended for adults over the age of 60.

Patients with shingles tend to have recurrent episodes of this condition. The blisters typically resolve after a couple of weeks, but can crop up again in months or years. Some patients are able to identify when they are going to have a recurrence of shingles because they feel symptoms such as tingling and burning of the skin before any blisters are seen. Identifying these symptoms as early as possible can help these patients get the best treatment for their shingles attack.

The most important part of treating of a shingles rash is keeping the area from becoming infected.
The most important part of treating of a shingles rash is keeping the area from becoming infected.

Some patients have symptoms of shingles even after the blisters resolve, a condition known as "post-herpetic neuralgia." They continue to have pain for months after the rash resolves. Symptoms can include tingling, numbness, burning pain, or the sensation that their skin is crawling.

Discussion Comments

Rotergirl

One of my co-workers was out for about a week with shingles. She didn't have as severe a case as she could have. Her sister is a nurse and recognized the symptoms and got her to the doctor.

Her main issue were the two lesions on her back. She said they burned the worst and kept lidocaine patches on them for about a month. She kept the patches in the fridge so they would ease the burn immediately when she put them on her skin.

I've had a couple of friends who had shingles also, and they said the best advice they got was to keep the patches in the refrigerator. They said the burning stopped immediately when they put the cold patches on their skin.

Pippinwhite

It cannot be stressed too strongly how important early shingles treatment is! A doctor can give an injection and start someone on medication, and the earlier, the better. My mom recognized her symptoms right away and went to the doctor. He said every hour you get treatment under the 12-hour mark after symptoms appear, the better off you are.

One important thing to remember is that the skin tingling or burning will only be on one side of the body per breakout. That's a good indicator. Also, many people will have a stiff neck or fever, say, 12 or so hours before the lesions show up. Mom had stiffness and felt a lesion just under the skin on her neck. It hadn't erupted yet.

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    • Shingles is characterized by blisters and a rash, which usually appear on one side of the face or on the upper torso.
      By: librakv
      Shingles is characterized by blisters and a rash, which usually appear on one side of the face or on the upper torso.
    • Shingles can cause skin infections, as well as vision loss.
      By: arztsamui
      Shingles can cause skin infections, as well as vision loss.
    • The vaccine for shingles is particularly recommended for adults over the age of 60.
      By: Fernando Madeira
      The vaccine for shingles is particularly recommended for adults over the age of 60.
    • The most important part of treating of a shingles rash is keeping the area from becoming infected.
      By: librakv
      The most important part of treating of a shingles rash is keeping the area from becoming infected.
    • Shingles occurs due to the reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox.
      By: Jaren Wicklund
      Shingles occurs due to the reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox.