How to Rate Shingles

Shingles is a type of skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Varicella-zoster is one of the herpes viruses but is not the type that causes cold sores or genital herpes. The shingles virus can lay dormant in the body of anyone who has had chickenpox. Under certain circumstances, the virus can reappear later in life, causing shingles. The majority of people who develop shingles are over 60 years of age. Shingles is rated in severity or in phases.

Instructions

• 1

  People commonly have headaches and fatigue.

  Look for unusual areas of skin discomfort. Shingles lesions normally appear within 48 to 72 hours. In the preemptive phase or before eruptions phase, patients have symptoms of fatigue, headache and, in some cases, fever.

• 2

  Exam skin closely for lesions.

  Examine painful areas for lesions, which appear and develop quickly into vesicles or fluid-filled sacs. In the eruptive phase, the lesions tend to appear over three to five days and, in some cases, start to develop into bullae--tightly filled blisters. Blisters or lesions commonly appear on chest, belly, face or back.

• 3

  Look for the skin to scab over.

  Look for rupturing of the vesicles, where they break apart and ooze fluid. The lesions will commonly ulcerate and then finally scab over and become extremely dry and crusty.

• 4

  Keep lesions as clean as possible.

  Take care not to infect the lesions. Keep all the lesions as clean and dry as possible. Patients will also experience a lot of pain or neuritis during the eruptive phase.

• 5

  Some people may not heal for a full month.

  Watch for the lesions to start to resolve and go away over about two weeks time. Some lesions may not heal for a complete month and some patients may develop a chronic neurological pain condition from the shingles.

• 6

  Stay away from anyone who has not had the virus.

  Keep away from other people until all lesions have healed. Shingles is infectious to anyone that hasn't had chickenpox or infection with the varicella virus. Pregnant women are especially susceptible.

• 7

  The pain from shingles can become chronic neuralgia.

  Look for any signs of the last phase of shingles, which is chronic neuralgia. After shingles, many people can have persistent pain or discomfort that is intermittent. Pain that lasts for over 30 days after a shingles outbreak or after all the lesions have healed can be diagnosed as chronic neuralgia. The majority of people with chronic neuralgia have a burning pain or electric shock type pains. The pain can be quite severe and incapacitating. Pain can be long-term for months or even years.