Baby Rash Torso

Generally, shingles heal well and problems are rare. However, on occasion, the blisters can become infected by bacteria, causing cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the skin. If this occurs, the area becomes red, hot, firm and tender. You may notice red streaks forming around the wound. If you notice any of these symptoms, contact your health care professional. Antibiotics can be used to treat these complications.

Shingles is not infectious in the same way as chicken pox, the virus can be transmitted to others through coughing and sneezing. However, the virus can be transmitted by direct contact with fluid from shingles blisters, until they become dry and crusted. This can cause chickenpox in people who are not immunized against it. People with shingles should avoid contact with people with reduced immunity, infants or pregnant women (See "Who is most likely to get shingles?). If the rash is covered, the virus is less likely to spread.

Shingles symptoms usually disappear within three to five weeks. However, treatment is recommended to help stimulate pain of shingles. Your health care provider may offer oral antiviral medications, including acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir, in order to accelerate the course of illness of shingles. Can also be prescribed pain medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

Shingles symptoms happen in stages. At first you might have a headache or be sensitive to light. You can also feel that you have the flu but no fever. Later, you may feel itching, tingling or pain in a certain area. This is a band, band or small area of rash may occur a few days later. The rash turns into clusters of vesicles. The blisters fill with fluid, then crust over. It takes 2 to 4 weeks for the bulbs to cure, and they can leave scars. Some people do get a mild rash, and some do not get a rash at all.

Doctors can distinguish the shingles from chickenpox (or dermatitis or poison ivy) by how the points are distributed. Since shingles occurs in an area of skin that is supplied by sensory fibers of a single nerve - called a dermatome - the rash usually appears in a well-defined on one side of the body, usually the chest or side of the face around the nose and eyes. (Name specific Shingles "comes from the Latin cingulum, meaning belt or girdle.) If a diagnosis is in doubt, laboratory tests can confirm the presence of the virus.

The severity and duration of an attack of shingles can be significantly reduced by immediate treatment with antiviral drugs, which include acyclovir, valacyclovir or famcyclovir. Antiviral drugs may also help avoid the painful aftermath of shingles known as postherpetic neuralgia (see section entitled "What are the complications of shingles?). Doctors now recommend starting antiviral drugs within 72 hours of the onset of the rash. Early treatment is thought to reduce the risk of postherpetic neuralgia and may speed the healing process.