Signs and Symptoms of Shingles
Shingles usually appears as a single strip of blisters around the left or right side of your body. It’s almost always unilateral, meaning it involves only one side of your body.
Shingles tends to show up most frequently on your torso, just because of the laws of probability, says Joseph Safdieh, MD, a professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.
Often, it’s not what the rash looks like, but what it feels like before and after it shows up, that signals the condition. Up to several days before the shingles rash appears, pain, itching, or tingling often occurs in the area where it will develop.
- Chills
- Fever
- Headache
- Upset stomach
You may even experience the pain but not the rash. Because the pain of shingles originates in the nerves, it may have a different quality than any other pain you have experienced before.
“Neuropathic pain is burning,” says Dr. Safdieh. “It’s both numb and painful at the same time, and can be provoked by touching the skin.” Your skin may be so sensitive that even sunlight can bring on a stabbing sensation.