how does the course of shingles run

by Dr. Colton Brekke 10 min read

Somewhere between one and five days after the tingling or burning feeling on the skin, a red rash will appear. A few days later, the rash will turn into fluid-filled blisters. About one week to 10 days after that, the blisters dry up and crust over. A couple of weeks later, the scabs clear up.

How long does it take for the shingles virus to run its course?

There is no cure available for shingles. The condition will run its natural course and clear up within 2-5 weeks. For some people, pain can last for months or even years after the rash is cleared.

Can you just let shingles run its course?

There is no cure for shingles. It simply has to run its course. Treatment focuses on pain relief. Painkillers may help relieve some of the pain.

What are the 4 stages of shingles?

The 4 stages of shingles and how the condition progressesThe stages of shingles are tingling pain, followed by a burning feeling and a red rash, then blistering, and finally the blisters will crust over.You will typically develop a rash about 1-5 days after you feel numbness or tingling pain.More items...•

What are the stages of shingles outbreak?

Shingles' clinical manifestations are divided into 3 distinct phases: preeruptive, acute eruptive, and chronic. The preeruptive phase (or preherpetic neuralgia stage) usually lasts about 48 hours but can stretch to 10 days in some cases.

Does shingles get worse before it gets better?

Typically, the peak pain of shingles is felt within 4 or 5 days after the first symptoms develop, and it comes along with a blistering rash. As the blisters scab over, the pain usually starts to disappear. In some cases, the pain does not go away. This is known as a condition called postherpetic neuralgia.

How do you know shingles are healing?

The blisters will scab over and begin to heal, which takes from 1 to 3 weeks, unless the rash is on your scalp in which case it can take several months. As they heal, the blisters become smaller and less painful, generally over a period of 3 to 5 weeks.

What is the most painful phase of shingles?

After the lesions crust over, it may take two to four weeks to heal completely. At this time, pain may still be present. The most painful stage of shingles is when you have fluid-filled blisters. This usually occurs three to five days after the rash first appears.

How painful is shingles on a scale of 1 to 10?

“Shingles is extremely painful," Wigand-Bolling said. “On a scale from one to 10, most patients will say the pain ranges from six to 10.” Between 1 and 5 days after the first symptoms occur, a rash will develop in the affected area.

Can you get shingles in multiple places?

Shingles rashes tend to form along one or two dermatomes on one side of your body. Their location depends on which nerve the virus spreads from. The rash doesn't cross the midline of your body because each spinal nerve supplies sensory information only for the left or right side of your body.

Which painkiller is best for shingles?

Doctors have a variety of choices to treat shingles pain. Medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen are often used. More severe cases might call for use of Tylenol with codeine or oxycodone.

Overview

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Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Although shingles can occur anywhere on your body, it most often appears as a single stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or the right side of your torso. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you've h…
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Symptoms

  • The signs and symptoms of shingles usually affect only a small section of one side of your body. These signs and symptoms may include: 1. Pain, burning, numbness or tingling 2. Sensitivity to touch 3. A red rash that begins a few days after the pain 4. Fluid-filled blisters that break open and crust over 5. Itching Some people also experience: 1. Fever 2. Headache 3. Sensitivity to light 4. …
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Causes

  • Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. 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 …
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Risk Factors

  • Anyone who has ever had chickenpox can develop shingles. Most adults in the United States had chickenpox when they were children, before the advent of the routine childhood vaccination that now protects against chickenpox. Factors that may increase your risk of developing shingles include: 1. Being older than 50.Shingles is most common in people older than 50. The risk increa…
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Complications

  • Complications from shingles can include: 1. Postherpetic neuralgia.For some people, shingles pain continues long after the blisters have cleared. This condition is known as postherpetic neuralgia, and it occurs when damaged nerve fibers send confused and exaggerated messages of pain from your skin to your brain. 2. Vision loss.Shingles in or around an eye (ophthalmic shingle…
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Prevention

  • A shingles vaccine may help prevent shingles. People who are eligible to get it should get the Shingrix vaccine in the U.S. In the United States, Shingrix was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017. Studies suggest that Shingrix offers protection against shingles for more than five years. Shingrix is a nonliving vaccine made of a virus component. It is given in tw…
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