Understanding Shingles

Shingles, medically known as herpes zoster, is a viral infection that affects many New Zealanders each year. This painful condition occurs when the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox, reactivates in your body years or even decades after your initial chickenpox infection.

What Causes Shingles?

After you recover from chickenpox, the virus doesn't leave your body completely. Instead, it remains dormant in your nerve tissue. As you age or if your immune system becomes weakened, the virus can reactivate, causing shingles. This typically happens to people over 50, though it can occur at any age.

Recognising the Symptoms

Shingles usually begins with pain, burning, or tingling in a specific area of your body, often on one side of your torso or face. Within a few days, a red rash appears, followed by fluid-filled blisters.

Although shingles can appear anywhere on your body, it is usually:

• around the back

• above the belly button (the upper abdomen)

• on the face

Other symptoms may include:

• fever

• headache

• chills

• upset stomach

The pain or irritation from shingles usually goes away in 3 to 5 weeks. It is important to get early treatment within the first few days of the rash appearing.

Prevention and Treatment

The best protection against shingles is vaccination.

The shingles vaccine used in New Zealand is called Shingrix. You need 2 doses, with the second dose given 2 to 6 months after the first.

Find out about the shingles vaccine, who needs it and when to get it.

Visit your healthcare provider as soon as you notice a rash if you think you have shingles. They will be able to diagnose you based on your symptoms.

Taking antiviral drugs within the first few days of the appearance of the rash can help to reduce the length of the illness and may help prevent the development of postherpetic neuralgia.

These drugs are not recommended for everyone. They may be prescribed for those over 50, people with a facial rash, and those with weak immune systems.

Drug treatment is unhelpful if it is sought later than three days after the appearance of the rash.

If You Have Shingles

If you have shingles, you should:

• cover the rash

• avoid touching or scratching the rash

• wash your hands regularly to prevent the spread of the virus

If you have never had chickenpox or received the vaccine, you can catch chickenpox if you are in close contact with someone who has shingles.

You should also avoid contact with the following high-risk groups until the rash has developed crusts:

• pregnant people who have not had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine

• premature or low birth weight babies

• people with weakened immune systems, such as people taking medication that lowers their immune system, people having chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients and people with HIV infection

When to Contact Your Doctor Immediately

Contact your doctor immediately if you experience:

• A rash near your eye (which could affect your vision)

• Widespread rash

• Signs of bacterial infection in the blisters

• Severe pain

• Symptoms if you're immunocompromised

Additional Resources

For more information on shingles and vaccination in New Zealand, consider visiting the following resources:

• Health New Zealand – Shingles

• Immunisation Advisory Centre – Shingles

• Shingles Vaccine Information

• Healthify – Shingles