A shingles rash looks like a cluster of tiny, fast-growing blisters on a red base of skin.
The blisters quickly merge, rupture, and crust over.
Shingles is typically constrained to one of these areas, causing a rash that looks similar to chickenpox.
Olga Kalacheva / Getty Images
Can I get shingles if I’ve already had chickenpox?
When VZV first reactivates, a person can experience so-calledprodromal symptomsas the body reacts to the emergent virus.
Prodromal symptoms are non-specific and occur before the main symptoms appear.
Irena Sowinska / Getty Images
The pain is due to both the inflammation and the overstimulation of nerves by the virus.
This differs from rashes that originate in skin cells in which nerves are not affected directly.
Moreover, the nerves that VZV inhabits aresensoryganglia.
Joel Carillet / Getty Images
Their function is to send sensory information from the skin to the brain.
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.
These vesicles form when the swelling is significant enough to cause blister formation.
pinglabel / Getty Images
Though rare, shingles can affect more than multipledermatomes.
Many will converge into larger blisters and/or rupture, leaving behind a raw, indented, oozing ulcer.
At this stage, the pain can be intense, making movement or even the lightest touch extremely painful.
Martin Dr. Baumgartner / Getty Images
Fisle /Wikimedia Commons
abdmalekmd / Getty Images
Is Shingles Contagious?
In that case, the person would develop chickenpox, not shingles.
A scab will form underneath, stemming the oozing fluid and allowing the ulcer to heal.
Fisle /Wikimedia Commons
The healing of the sore and shedding of the scab takes a week to 10 days.
A lesion is no longer considered contagious once the rash has crusted over.
franciscodiazpagador / Getty Images
Even as sores begin to heal, new clusters of blisters can continue to form.
abdmalekmd / Getty Images
Can You Shorten an Outbreak?
There is no cure for shingles.
It is a severe variant that affects 20% of people with shingles.
franciscodiazpagador / Getty Images
People with compromised immune symptoms, such as those with advancedHIV, are at highest risk.
HZO causes a blistering rash around the eyes and eyelids.
If you develop a shingles rash near the eye, contact your healthcare provider right away.
lauraag / Getty Images
lauraag / Getty Images
Reproduced with permission from DermNet NZwww.dermnetnz.org2022.
This is called viralretinitis.
Damage in viral retinitis is due to inflammation of the blood vessels servicing the eye.
Reproduced with permission from ©DermNet NZwww.dermnetnz.org2022.
Damage to these nerves can also affect vision.
This can slow healing times and even lead to permanent scarring.
Never scratch a shingles rash.
Get our printable guide for your next appointment with a healthcare provider to help you ask the right questions.
Instead, tap the skin or apply a cool, moist cloth to help ease the itch.
Over-the-counter remedies like calamine lotion and colloidal oatmeal baths may also help.
This condition, known aspostherpetic neuralgia, is the most common complication of shingles.
It causes burning pain that can last for months and years after the infection has cleared.
There is no cure for postherpetic neuralgia, but different medications can help ease the pain.
For most people, postherpetic neuralgia gets better over time.
How Long Does Shingles Last:?
Most cases of shingles don’t last longer than two to five weeks.
Summary
Shingles proceeds through several different stages.
In the early or prodromal stage, you may have mild symptoms such as a headache or low-grade fever.
These blisters will eventually rupture, scab, and crust over.
Some people continue to experience pain for weeks or months after a shingles infection.
Get our printable guide for your next appointment with a healthcare provider to help you ask the right questions.
2015;3(4):109-120. doi:10.1177/2051013615599151 [Published correction appears inTher Adv Vaccines.
2016;4(1-2):32.]
Tommasi C, Breuer J.The biology of varicella-zoster virus replication in the skin.Viruses.
2022;14(5):982. doi:10.3390/v14050982
Kantaria SM.Bilateral asymmetrical herpes zoster.Indian Dermatol Online J.
2015;6(3):236. doi:10.4103/2229-5178.156448
MedlinePlus.Shingles | herpes zoster.
Tuft S.How to manage herpes zoster ophthalmicus.Community Eye Health.
2020;33(108):71-72.
Harvard Health Publishing.Shingles of the eye can cause lasting vision impairment.
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.Shingles: overview.
PMID: 30995653
National Library of Medicine.Shingles: Learn more Lasting pain after shingles.
