Shingles: symptoms and early treatment by video

Shingles (herpes zoster) is caused by the chickenpox virus, varicella-zoster virus. After chickenpox, the virus stays dormant in the nerves and can reactivate years later as a painful rash, almost always on one side of the body or face, often in a stripe or band.

The most common complication is nerve pain that continues after the rash heals, called postherpetic neuralgia. According to the CDC, 10% to 18% of people with shingles get it, and the risk rises with age.

Here is how the video visit works:

To help the doctor evaluate you well by video, have these ready. Not sure whether a video visit or an in-person visit is right for you? Read telehealth or in-person visit: how to choose and how to prepare for your video visit. When you are ready, book your visit.

• When the pain, burning or itching started, and when the rash appeared (the first 72 hours matter)
• Where the rash is: if it is near the eye or on the face, tell the doctor at the start
• Good light and photos of the rash
• Whether you have a weakened immune system, or have had chickenpox or the vaccine
• Your medicines and allergies, and the name of your pharmacy

A doctor visit has the same price for all ages, with no membership and no insurance needed. You are charged when you request the visit, and you get a full refund if the clinic can’t see you. A doctor's note after your visit is included at no extra charge. See all prices.

A few days before the rash, many people feel pain, burning, tingling or itching in one area of skin, sometimes with fever. Then a painful rash appears, often itchy, on one side of the face or body. If you are not sure what your rash is, see skin rash.

The blisters scab over in 7 to 10 days and the rash clears in 2 to 4 weeks.

• Pain, burning, tingling or itching of the skin before the rash
• A painful rash on one side of the face or body
• Blisters that scab over in 7 to 10 days
• Fever
• Headache
• Chills

Antiviral medicines (acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir) can shorten shingles and make it milder. According to the CDC, treatment is most effective within 72 hours of symptom onset. Even after that window, book a visit: the doctor decides whether an antiviral is right for you, based on your evaluation.

Over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers help with the pain. If appropriate, the doctor prescribes and we send your prescription to your pharmacy. For itching, the CDC mentions wet compresses, calamine lotion and lukewarm oatmeal baths. Keep the rash clean and covered.

Shingles is usually recognized by how the rash looks. If the doctor needs more information, she gives you a lab order for a lab near you. If pain continues after the skin heals, book again: the doctor helps you manage it.

No. Shingles (herpes zoster) is caused by the chickenpox virus, which is a different virus from herpes simplex. Herpes simplex is what causes cold sores and genital herpes. They share the word "herpes" because the viruses belong to the same family, but they are different infections.

Shingles is not a sexually transmitted infection and is not spread through sex. It appears when the virus from a past chickenpox infection reactivates, often with age, stress or a weakened immune system.

You cannot catch shingles from someone. But a person who never had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine can catch the virus through direct contact with fluid from the blisters, or by breathing in virus particles from them, and would get chickenpox, not shingles.

The virus stops spreading once the blisters scab over. Until then, cover the rash and avoid contact with pregnant people who have not had chickenpox or the vaccine, premature or low-birth-weight babies, and people with weakened immune systems.

The CDC recommends 2 doses of the recombinant shingles vaccine for adults 50 and older, and for adults 19 and older with a weakened immune system, even if they have had shingles before. The vaccine is given in person: ask for it at your pharmacy or with your primary care doctor.

Children can get shingles, although it is not common. We see children of all ages, with a parent or legal guardian on camera for the whole visit. For their safety, a baby under 3 months old with a fever of 100.4 °F (38 °C) or higher needs emergency care right away. For other rashes, see rashes in children.

Shingles near the eye, or a widespread rash in someone with a weakened immune system, needs in-person care today: go to the emergency room. Call 911 or go to the emergency room if you have any of these signs. See also when to go to the ER.

• A rash near the eye, on the forehead or on the tip of the nose, or changes in vision: shingles can affect the eye
• Confusion, a severe headache with a stiff neck, weakness or changes in hearing
• A rash spread over much of the body, especially if your immune system is weakened
• High fever, or blisters with pus and spreading redness