Shingles (Zoster):
Information for adults

Because the virus follows the nerve root to the skin, the appearance of shingles is very distinctive, located in the area of skin related to the affected nerve.

Steady or intermittent pain, itch, or burning starts a few days before any lesions are visible on the skin. These initial symptoms are followed by red, slightly raised bumps, which fill with fluid over 1–2 days and then rupture after 5–7 days, leaving sores on the skin that eventually form scabs that heal over a few weeks. These lesions are scattered irregularly along a band, or line, that follows the path of the nerve.

The trunk of the body is typically is affected, but shingles lesions can occur anywhere. When the face is affected, sometimes the eye is also affected.

The area affected by shingles is usually painful, but the level of pain can vary from mild to severe.