How to Identify Symptoms of Shingles

Shingles is a skin condition that may cause intense pain, blisters and rash on the skin of an individual who has had chicken pox in the past. Caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the condition is also known as Herpes Zoster, which is the same virus that causes chicken pox. After a person has had chicken pox, the virus remains present in inactive forms in nerve cells within the body. Sometimes, the virus will become active again at a later point in time, though causes for such incidents are unknown. Shingles may affect anyone, though it is most common in adults over the age of 50. The condition affects the sensory nerves in the skin, usually on one side or area of the body. Left untreated, shingles may lead to complications or spread, which is why it is important to identify symptoms of shingles. Proper treatment usually eradicates the rash, blisters and pain caused by the shingles within two to three weeks.

Instructions

1. Pay attention to what your body is trying to tell you any time you feel something out of the ordinary. The first symptoms of something like shingles is a tingling or burning sensation in the skin, sometimes with or without accompanying pain.

2. Watch for signs of a rash developing in one area or on one side of the body. The rash may appear within a few days of the tingling or burning sensations and may appear as a reddened band on the chest, the back, face or neck. This rash will rapidly develop into blisters filled with fluid that may itch and produce intense pain. Such blisters will generally dry out within a few days.

3. Take your temperature and observe signs of fever or chills that often accompany presence of shingles. Such fever or chills may also be accompanied by a general feeling of malaise or nausea, stomach ache, cramps and diarrhea.

4. Pay attention to any sensations of pain in localized areas such as the face, chest or face, with or without the symptoms of blisters or reddened areas. When in doubt, visit your physician for potential tests or treatment options.

5. Watch for signs of increasing stress in your lifestyle. Often, high stress situations or episodes will prompt an outbreak of shingles in adults that have experienced fatigue or illness.

Tips & Warnings

• Relief of symptoms is the key to treatment of shingles. Use of topical ointments or creams according to directions on package may provide some relief. One attack of shingles usually renders the individual immune from further episodes.

• Left untreated, shingles may lead to eye infections, chronic pain for the elderly or spread to internal organs. Antiviral drugs may be prescribed by a physician.