Shingles is a painful condition caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. Anyone can get it, but it's most common in older people.
The main symptom of shingles is a painful, blotchy rash on 1 side of your body. It mainly affects the skin, but can sometimes affect the eyes too.
Medicine from a doctor can help speed up your recovery from shingles if it's taken within 3 days of the symptoms starting, but not everyone needs it.
The main symptom of shingles is a painful, blotchy rash on 1 side of your body. It mainly affects the skin, but can sometimes affect the eyes too.
The first signs of shingles can be:
A rash will appear a few days later.
Usually you get shingles on your chest and tummy, but it can appear on your face, eyes and genitals.
The shingles rash appears as red blotches on your skin, on 1 side of your body only. A rash on both the left and right of your body is unlikely to be shingles.
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.
Shingles can also make your eye red and sore, affect your sight or hearing, or make it difficult to move 1 side of your face.
Medicine from a doctor can help speed up your recovery from shingles if it's taken within 3 days of the symptoms starting, but not everyone needs it.