How many blisters with shingles

The pain is felt in the area where the rash occurred. The older you are when you get shingles, the greater your chances of developing PHN.

The PHN pain can cause depression , anxiety, sleeplessness , and weight loss. Some people with PHN find it hard to go about their daily activities, such as dressing, cooking, and eating. Talk with your doctor if you are experiencing PHN or have any of these symptoms.

Usually, PHN will lessen over time. Everyone who has had chickenpox is at risk for developing shingles. Researchers do not fully understand what makes the virus become active and cause shingles. But some things make it more likely:. The current shingles vaccine brand name Shingrix is a safe, easy, and more effective way to prevent shingles than the previous vaccine.

Most adults age 50 and older should get vaccinated with the shingles vaccine, which is given in two doses. Medicare Part D and private health insurance plans may cover some or all of the cost. The earlier shingles is treated, the less severe symptoms may become. Early treatment can also reduce your risk for PHN. If pain persists after the rash has cleared, see your doctor as soon as possible. They can work with you to develop a pain management plan.

If your pain is severe, they may refer you to a pain specialist for additional consultation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the shingles vaccine in most all adults over age Shingles can recur. But you can give others chickenpox. After you have chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus stays dormant in your body.

If this virus reactivates, shingles occurs. You are contagious to others until all areas of the rash are dried up and crusted over. To catch the varicella-zoster virus from you, a person has to have direct contact with your rash blisters.

Shingles is a condition related to chickenpox. It mostly affects older adults. Learn the causes and how to avoid getting or spreading the virus that…. Shingles, or herpes zoster, occurs when the dormant chickenpox virus is reactivated in nerve tissues. Early symptoms include tingling and pain. Shingles without a rash is uncommon, but it can occur.

This condition…. Shingles, sometimes called herpes zoster, is an infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The risk of spreading VZV to others is low if you cover the shingles rash. People with shingles cannot spread the virus before their rash blisters appear or after the rash crusts. Also see Treating Shingles. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link.

Shingles Herpes Zoster. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. Shingles is characterized by pain or a tingling sensation in a limited area on one side of the face or torso, followed by a red rash with small, fluid-filled blisters.

The signs and symptoms of shingles usually affect only a small section of one side of your body. These signs and symptoms may include:. Pain is usually the first symptom of shingles. For some, it can be intense. Depending on the location of the pain, it can sometimes be mistaken for a symptom of problems affecting the heart, lungs or kidneys.

Some people experience shingles pain without ever developing the rash. Most commonly, the shingles rash develops as a stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or right side of your torso.

Sometimes the shingles rash occurs around one eye or on one side of the neck or face. Contact your doctor promptly if you suspect shingles, but especially in the following situations:. The shingles rash is associated with an inflammation of nerves beneath the skin. Anyone who's had chickenpox may develop shingles. After you recover from chickenpox, the virus enters your nervous system and lies dormant for years.

Eventually, it may reactivate and travel along nerve pathways to your skin — producing shingles. But, not everyone who's had chickenpox will develop shingles. The reason for shingles is unclear. But it may be due to lowered immunity to infections as you grow older. Shingles is more common in older adults and in people who have weakened immune systems. Varicella-zoster is part of a group of viruses called herpes viruses, which includes the viruses that cause cold sores and genital herpes.

Because of this, shingles is also known as herpes zoster. But the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles is not the same virus responsible for cold sores or genital herpes, a sexually transmitted infection. A person with shingles can pass the varicella-zoster virus to anyone who isn't immune to chickenpox.