Shingles (Herpes Zoster)

Typically, three to four days before skin outbreaks occur, symptoms of fatigue, fever, chills, and, sometimes, gastrointestinal upset, start to manifest, followed by the affected area of the skin becoming sensitive to touch. Then small, crusty, painful blisters erupt along a nerve path so that the reddened outbreak affects a strip of skin, forming a line. This most commonly occurs over the ribs in the thoracic area and is usually limited to one side of the body. In rare cases, shingles can also affect the lower part of the body or the face. During shingles outbreaks the pain can be severe, but the eruptions usually heal within five days without further complications. In some people, however, especially the elderly, pain can last for months and even years, and be recurring. An episode of shingles usually lasts two to four weeks. The first sign of the condition is a tingling sensation in the affected area, followed by pain and then a rash.

Any part of your body can be affected although the chest and abdomen (tummy) are the usual areas. You may also:

• experience pain in your arms and legs
• find the nerves in the upper half of your face (including your eyes) are affected
• feel exhausted

Early symptoms

Shingles may cause some early (prodromal) symptoms that last for one to four days before the rash first appears. These early symptoms can include:

• a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or over, though this unusual
• myalgia (muscle pain)
• burning, tingling, numbness or itchiness of the skin in the affected area
• a feeling of being generally unwell

Not everyone will experience these prodromal symptoms. In particular, a high temperature is uncommon.

Along with the early symptoms above, people with shingles experience a localised ‘band’ of pain in the affected area. The pain can be a constant, dull or burning sensation and its intensity can vary from mild to severe. You may have sharp stabbing pains from time to time and the affected area of skin will usually be tender.

Pain is less common in young, healthy people and rare in children. It can last for more than a week before the rash begins.

The shingles rash usually follows several days after the start of the pain. The rash appears on one side of your body and develops on the area of skin related to the affected nerve.

Initially, the shingles rash appears as red blotches on your skin, before quickly developing into itchy blisters similar in appearance to chickenpox. New blisters may appear for up to a week, but about three days after appearing they become yellowish in colour, flatten and dry out.

Finally, scabs form where the blisters were, which may leave some slight scarring. It usually takes two to four weeks for the rash to completely heal.

The symptoms of shingles are often mild. However, see your licensed health practitioner as soon as possible if you recognise the symptoms. Early treatment may help reduce the severity of your symptoms and risk of developing complications.

See your licensed health professional immediately if you have any of the following symptoms:

• a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or over
• confusion
• memory loss
• severe headache
• symptoms that affect your eye area

See your licensed health professional if you develop symptoms of shingles and are pregnant or have a weakened immune system (the body’s natural defence system).

The next section on natural remedies for shingles is the causes.