Herpes zoster (Shingles) is a strange virus because it stems from a very common childhood disease. Shingles is actually a spin off of the chicken pox virus. If you had chicken pox in childhood, or at any other time in your life, you can develop shingles later on in adulthood. The initial chicken pox virus runs its course in your body and instead of going away; it hides away on your nerve endings. There are no further signs that it is there.
Shingles silently waits for a time, many years later, when your immune system is compromised and you body is weakened by stress or other illnesses. Then is when the first symptoms of Shingles shows itself. The early symptoms of Shingles sometimes make it difficult to diagnose because they are similar to many other things. Even the best of doctors may not be able to differentiate Shingles from a common allergic reaction because so many of the symptoms are alike. It is not unusual for a patient to come in very concerned about the early symptoms of Shingles only to be sent home without a definitive diagnosis in the early days of the virus. Shingles is often thought of as occurring on the trunk of your body near your belt line. However it can appear any place on your body from your legs to your face. The shingles virus is most likely to show up on one side or the other of your body no matter what body part it attacks.
The first symptom is often a tingling sensation just under the skin. Then your skin starts to feel itchy and irritated. Your first indication might be the sudden desire to scratch that area of your body. The itching may persist for a couple days. A continued burning or even painful sensation of the skin in that area might follow this scratchy sensation. A few days later you will notice a blistery rash that follows these early warning signs. Even with treatment, the painful symptoms can persist for months or even years after the first flair up with Shingles.
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January 15th, 2009 at 1:55 am
Can you have burning & stabbing feeling for 4-5 weeks before the rash comes out? and how contagious are you before the rash appears???