Signs and symptoms of Shingles

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Signs and symptoms of Shingles

Shingles is an infection that causes a painful rash. Customers should be referred to the Pharmacist who may treat under Pharmacy First if shingles is confirmed or refer onwards to the customers GP.

The first signs of shingles can be:

A tingling or painful feeling in an area of skin
A headache or feeling generally unwell

A rash will usually appear a few days later. In rare cases shingles can cause pain without a rash. Usually, the person gets the shingles rash on their chest and tummy, but it can appear anywhere on their body including on their face, eyes and genitals. The rash appears as blotches on the skin, on 1 side of the body only. A rash on both the left and right of your body is unlikely to be shingles.

Some things to remember include:

The blotches become itchy blisters that ooze fluid. A few days later, the blisters dry out and scab.
The rash can form a cluster that only appears on 1 side of your body.
The skin remains painful until after the rash has gone.
The rash may be in and around the eye, making it sore and red. This, in turn, can affect the sight or hearing and make it hard to move 1 side of the face.
The rash can be red, but this can be harder to see on brown and black skin.

The first signs of shingles can be:

Chickenpox and Shingles

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The first signs of shingles can be:

Chickenpox and Shingles

Continue Module