Shingles

Shingles causes a painful rash that can take weeks to heal. If you are age 50 or older, vaccination is recommended to prevent shingles. If you do develop the condition, Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic offers care to relieve symptoms and prevent complications.

What is shingles?

Shingles affects about one in three people in the U.S. It occurs when the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox — reawakens in your body. Symptoms begin as itching or pain and turn into a rash of blisters, usually on one side of the torso or face. Shingles pain can last long after the blisters have healed.

Cause of shingles

The varicella-zoster virus from an earlier illness of chickenpox causes shingles. When you have chickenpox, some of the virus particles settle into nerve cells where they remain inactive. The virus can reactivate years later, spreading down the long nerve fibers to the skin. Shingles symptoms are usually more complex and severe than chickenpox symptoms.

You can’t catch shingles from someone who has it. However, you can spread the virus to someone else through direct contact with the rash. That person, usually a child, can develop chickenpox if they haven’t had the disease or vaccine.

Shingles symptoms

The first symptom is usually itching, tingling or pain, ranging from mild to intense. Some people experience slight itching while others feel severe pain with the slightest touch.

A rash of fluid-filled blisters (vesicles) appears in the same area within two weeks. The vesicles look like chickenpox but occur in clusters. In some cases, the vesicles merge, producing an area that looks like a burn.

Shingles can affect any part of the body. Most often, the disease develops as a band on one side of the chest, stomach or back. The second most common location is on one side of the face, near the eye and forehead. 

Although the blisters typically heal within a month, some people continue to have pain (postherpetic neuralgia) that lasts for weeks, months or longer. Other complications are rare, but may include infections, vision loss, hearing problems and brain inflammation (encephalitis). These complications are more common in older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

Most people who get shingles do not develop it again, but it is possible to have the illness more than once.

Shingles diagnosis

Doctors usually diagnose shingles based on a visual examination of the rash. Before the rash develops or if the rash isn’t typical, shingles can be challenging to diagnose. Your doctor may test your blood or fluid from a blister to confirm the diagnosis.

Shingles risk factors

Shingles usually occurs after age 50, but anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk. People with compromised immune systems also have a higher risk. A weakened immune system can occur due to:

• Having a condition like cancer or HIV
• Receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy
• Taking immunosuppressive medications

Children exposed to chickenpox in the womb or who develop chickenpox as infants have an increased risk of pediatric shingles.

Shingles prevention

Vaccination can prevent shingles and is recommended for those:

• Age 50 and older
• Age 19 and older who have a weakened immune system

Getting the chickenpox vaccine (varicella) can also help prevent shingles. The chickenpox vaccine is routine for children. It can also be given to adolescents and adults who were not previously vaccinated or never had chickenpox.

Shingles treatment

Currently, there is no cure for shingles. Antiviral drugs started as soon as possible after symptoms begin can reduce symptoms and speed healing. These medications can also reduce the risk of long-term pain.

Doctors also use corticosteroids to treat shingles. These medications reduce inflammation and can be helpful, especially when the eye or facial nerves are involved.

Other tips that can help promote healing if you have shingles include:

• Eat regular, well-balanced meals
• Keep the area clean
• Perform gentle exercises, such as walking or stretching
• Place a cool, damp washcloth on the blisters
• Try to relax and reduce stress