Shingles & after-shingles pain

Shingles Signs & Symptoms

The early symptoms of shingles can easily be mistaken for another illness. Symptoms may begin with a feeling of burning or shooting pain, numbness, tingling or itching in one area of the body or face. Others may feel mild, flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, chills and nausea. One day to two weeks after the pain begins, a rash or cluster of blisters appears on the skin¹. If you or your loved ones notice any of these early signs, you should see your healthcare professional immediately, because early treatment of shingles can decrease the amount of time you suffer from the painful condition².

Though a rash and blisters are symptomatic of shingles, an outbreak may begin without them, so it is important to recognize the other signs and symptoms that accompany the rash. Sometimes, though uncommon, shingles will occur without a rash, which is called zoster sine herpete¹. In rare cases, a shingles infection can lead to pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness, brain inflammation or death³.

PHN Signs & Symptoms

After the shingles rash has healed, if you feel severe pain in the same area where the rash was, you may have postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) or after-shingles pain. People usually describe PHN pain as burning, aching, itching and sharp⁴ and the pain can be constant or it can come and go². The size of the area where you feel the pain may be larger or smaller than the area of the actual shingles rash⁴.

For many PHN sufferers, the most disabling part of the pain is the severe skin sensitivity, which is called allodynia⁴. The skin may be unusually sensitive to even the lightest touch, smallest draft or slightest change in temperature. For example, a gentle breeze or the feel of clothing may cause extreme pain for some PHN patients².

Some rare symptoms of PHN can include:

• Abnormal skin temperature and color
• Sweating in the PHN area
• Loss of muscle tone⁴