The name shingles is believed to have come from the Latin word “cingulum”, which means belt or girdle, because shingles typically has a belt-like appearance.

Shingles is a disease caused by the herpes virus, which also causes chicken pox (Varicella Zoster virus).  After you recover from chickenpox, you are immune from getting the disease again.  However, the virus doesn’t go away; it retreats to nerve cells along your spinal cord, where it remains in your body for life, usually in the dormant state.  When awakened, the virus travels along nerves to the skin, where it breaks out in the form of shingles.

Early signs of shingles are often vague and can easily be mistaken for other illnesses.  The first sign of an attack can be an isolated pain or numbness over a major nerve in or under the skin, or a shooting pain around the trunk or down the arm or leg.  Mild flu-like symptoms, such as headache, fever and upset stomach, also may occur.  As the outbreak progresses, the symptoms become clear and the diagnosis is made more definite.  Lesions (rash) appear on the skin from 1-14 days later, usually in a band on one side of the body or back, or clustered on one side of the face.  These lesions become fluid-filled blisters in 2-4 days and continue appearing for several more days. These turn from clear to cloudy in appearance as white blood cells attack the virus.  Slowly, the blisters crust, scab and heal, most often within a few weeks.  Pain may be present for a month or longer.  Pain is individualized, and may range in severity from stinging, burning, itching, to extreme pain for weeks or months after the blisters heal.

Shingles can be treated, but treatment must be started early to be effective.  The antiviral drugs Acyclovir, Famcyclovir and Valacyclovir can lessen the initial pain and make the rash go away sooner.  Pain relief medications, topical ointments, and other medications may also help ease symptoms.  The skin must be kept clean to guard against secondary bacterial infections.

Shingles is not contagious.  However, the shingles rash does contain active virus particles; therefore, a person who never has had chickenpox can catch chickenpox if exposed to the shingles rash.  Consequently, some people should avoid contact with a person who has shingles:  anyone who has not had chickenpox, such as infants and young children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.

Some people who have shingles experience a prolonged, severe pain to the point where they cannot keep up their usual activities or even wear clothing.  The pain and discomfort may interfere with sleep.  If this pain persists for weeks, months or even years after the rash heals, the person has a complication known as postherpetic neuralgia, but this is rare in young people.  If shingles occurs on the face, it can lead to serious and sometimes irreversible hearing and vision problems.  Shingles can be especially severe in people with impaired immunity caused by diseases such as HIV or by drugs used to treat cancer, or in the elderly.

The best defense against shingles is awareness.  Be alert to the early warning signs of shingles; seek early medical attention as soon as you suspect a shingles outbreak; be aware that serious complications can be associated with shingles, which include chronic pain, vision or hearing problems or the internal spread of infection.