SHINGLES – SYMPTOMS
The attack may be accompanied by a fever which lasts for two to four days, and there may be typical virus infection symptoms such as aches and pains and tiredness. The lymph glands in the area may be enlarged and tender. Pain many be felt in the area supplied by the sensory nerve and mistaken for a muscular pain or a strain.
Some four to eight days later, the typical rash appears. It starts as a reddening of the skin, then small blisters filled with a clear fluid develop. They dry up and scab, and finally disappear to leave scars which may persist for months or occasionally years.
If the infection is severe or if the person’s immunity is low, the condition may spread, resulting in a few vesicles like those in chicken pox on other parts of the body. Sometimes the infection can extend along the spinal cord. Occasionally the motor cells of the front of the spinal cord are involved, and this can cause weakness or paralysis of muscles.
The most common area affected is the trunk, when the thoracic part of the spinal cord is involved. But it may affect other areas and the lesions extend down the arm or leg.
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