Symptoms of Shingles

List of symptoms of Shingles:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Shingles includes the 14 symptoms listed below:

• Mild fever
• Headache
• Chills
• Malaise
• Tingling feeling
• Skin itchiness
• Stabbing skin pain
• Skin rash - raised red dots on torso or face.
• Skin blisters - the skin rash becomes blisters that erupt and crust over.
• Small yellow skin blisters
• Semicircular one-sided skin blister rash
• Circular rash around the trunk - if both sided spinal nerves are infected
• Scabs
• Persistent local pain

Note that Shingles symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Shingles signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Shingles

Do I have Shingles?

• Shingles: Introduction
• Shingles: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Shingles
• Hidden Causes of Shingles
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Shingles
• More about Shingles

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Shingles:

• Home STD Testing
  • Home HIV Tests
  • Home Chlamydia Tests
  • Home Hepatitis Tests
  • Home Trichomonas Tests

Wrongly Diagnosed with Shingles?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Shingles includes:

• Contact dermatitis
• Herpes simplex
• Varicella
• Erysipelas
• Prodromal pain

See the full list of 19 alternative diagnoses for Shingles

More about symptoms of Shingles:

More information about symptoms of Shingles and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Shingles
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Shingles
• Underlying causes of Shingles
• Associated conditions for Shingles
• Risk factors for Shingles

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Chills - see all causes of Chills
• Circular rash around the trunk - see all causes of Rash
• Headache - see all causes of Headache
• Malaise - see all causes of Malaise
• Mild fever - see all causes of Mild fever
• Scabs - see all causes of Scabs
• Semicircular one-sided skin blister rash - see all causes of Blisters
• Skin blisters - see all causes of Blisters
• Skin itchiness - see all causes of Skin pain
• Skin rash - see all causes of Rash
• Small yellow skin blisters - see all causes of Blisters
• Stabbing skin pain - see all causes of Skin pain
• Tingling feeling - see all causes of Tingling

Medical Books Online about Shingles

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Full text. Free access without registration. The full text of published medical book chapters related to Shingles is available from published medical books for more detailed information about Shingles.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Shingles: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review the full text of medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Shingles.

Herpes zoster: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Herpes zoster begins with fever and malaise. Within 2 to 4 days, severe deep pain, pruritus, and paresthesia or hyperesthesia develop, usually on the trunk and occasionally on the arms and legs in a dermatomal distribution. Pain may be continuous or intermittent and usually lasts from 1 to 4 weeks. Up to 2 weeks after the first symptoms, small red nodular skin lesions erupt on the painful areas. (These lesions typically spread unilaterally around the thorax or vertically over the arms or legs.) Sometimes nodules don't appear at all, but when they do, they quickly become vesicles filled with clear fluid or pus. About 10 days after they appear, the vesicles dry and form scabs. (See Recognizing shingles.) When ruptured, such lesions usually become infected and, in severe cases, may lead to the enlargement of regional lymph nodes; they may even become gangrenous. Intense pain may occur before the rash appears and after the scabs form.

Occasionally, herpes zoster involves the cranial nerves, especially the trigeminal and geniculate ganglia or the oculomotor nerve. Geniculate zoster may cause vesicle formation in the external auditory canal, ipsilateral facial palsy, hearing loss, dizziness, and loss of taste. Trigeminal ganglion involvement causes eye pain and, possibly, corneal and scleral damage and impaired vision. Rarely, oculomotor involvement causes conjunctivitis, extraocular weakness, ptosis, and paralytic mydriasis.

In rare cases, herpes zoster leads to generalized central nervous system infection, muscle atrophy, motor paralysis (usually transient), acute transverse myelitis, and ascending myelitis. More commonly, generalized infection causes acute urine retention and unilateral diaphragm paralysis. In postherpetic neuralgia, most common in elderly persons, intractable neurologic pain may persist for years. Scars may be permanent.

Patients with immunodeficiency disorders may develop disseminated zoster. Lesions are bilateral and not limited to dermatomal distribution.

READ FULL BOOK TEXT ONLINE »

Herpes zoster: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Herpes zoster usually runs a typical course with classic signs and symptoms. Serious complications sometimes occur.

Onset of disease

Herpes zoster begins with fever and malaise. Within 2 to 4 days, severe deep pain, pruritus, and paresthesia or hyperesthesia develop, usually on the trunk and occasionally on the arms and legs in a dermatomal distribution. Pain may be continuous or intermittent and usually lasts from 1 to 4 weeks.

Skin lesions

Up to 2 weeks after the first symptoms, small, red, nodular skin lesions erupt on the painful areas. These lesions commonly spread unilaterally around the thorax or vertically over the arms or legs. Sometimes nodules don’t appear, but when they do, they quickly become vesicles filled with clear fluid or pus.

About 10 days after they appear, the vesicles dry and form scabs. (See Skin lesions in herpes zoster.) When they rupture, such lesions commonly become infected and, in severe cases, may lead to the enlargement of regional lymph nodes; they may even become gangrenous. Intense pain may occur before the rash appears and after the scabs form.

Cranial nerve involvement

Occasionally, herpes zoster involves the cranial nerves, especially the trigeminal and geniculate ganglia or the oculomotor nerve. Geniculate zoster may cause vesicle formation in the external auditory canal, ipsilateral facial palsy, hearing loss, dizziness, and loss of taste.

Trigeminal ganglion involvement causes eye pain and, possibly, corneal and scleral damage and impaired vision. Rarely, oculomotor involvement causes conjunctivitis, extraocular weakness, ptosis, and paralytic mydriasis.

Rare complications

In rare cases, herpes zoster leads to generalized central nervous system infection, muscle atrophy, motor paralysis (usually transient), acute transverse myelitis, and ascending myelitis. More commonly, generalized infection causes acute retention of urine and unilateral paralysis of the diaphragm. In postherpetic neuralgia, a complication most common in elderly patients, intractable neuralgic pain may persist for years. Scars may be permanent.

READ FULL BOOK TEXT ONLINE »

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Shingles:

NINDS Shingles Information Page: NINDS (Excerpt)

The first sign is usually a tingling feeling, itchiness, or stabbing pain on the skin. After a few days, a rash appears as a band or patch of raised dots on the side of the trunk or face. The rash develops into small, fluid-filled blisters which begin to dry out and crust over within several days. When the rash is at its peak, symptoms can range from mild itching to extreme and intense pain. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Shingles Information Page: NINDS)

Facts About Shingles (Varicella-Zoster Virus): NIAID (Excerpt)

Shingles is an outbreak of a rash or blisters on the skin that may be associated with severe pain. The pain is generally on one side of the body or face. (Source: excerpt from Facts About Shingles (Varicella-Zoster Virus): NIAID)

Facts About Shingles (Varicella-Zoster Virus): NIAID (Excerpt)

Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching generally located on one side of the body or face. The rash or blisters are present anywhere from one to 14 days. (Source: excerpt from Facts About Shingles (Varicella-Zoster Virus): NIAID)

Skin Care and Aging - Age Page - Health Information: NIA (Excerpt)

Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching, generally on one side of the body or face. A rash appears as a band or patch of raised dots on the side of the trunk or face. The rash develops into small, fluid-filled blisters, which begin to dry out and crust over within several days. When the rash is at its peak, symptoms can range from mild itching to intense pain. (Source: excerpt from Skin Care and Aging - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)

Shingles as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Shingles, it is also important to consider Shingles as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Shingles may cause:

• Chest pain
• Cicatricial alopecia
• Diaphragmatic paralysis
• Erythema
• Galactorrhoea-Hyperprolactinaemia
• Pruritus
• Vesiculo-bullous rash

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Shingles
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Shingles
• How serious is Shingles?
• More about Shingles
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Shingles:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Shingles. This signs and symptoms information for Shingles has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Shingles signs or Shingles symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Shingles may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Shingles symptoms.