COPING WITH... Shingles

One in four of us suffers from this painful blistering rash at least once, says Dr Melanie Wynne-Jones

You can’t get shingles (herpes zoster, or HZ) unless you’ve had chicken pox. The virus ‘hides’ in nerve junction boxes inside the spine or brain, re-emerging years later to produce a patch of shingles on skin supplied by the affected nerve. It’s more common (and usually more severe) as we get older, affecting almost one in a thousand people in their 70s each year, and in people with immune-system issues.

The symptoms

Shingles often starts as tingling or a burning, shooting pain several days before the rash appears. This neuralgia is due to faulty signals sent by the affected nerve. You may feel ‘flu-y’ with a headache, fever and muscles aching. The rash gradually appears as blisters on the trunk, arms or face/head. It’s always one-sided and usually easy to recognise.