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Shingles is an infection that causes a painful rash. Get advice from 111 as soon as possible if you think you have it.
The first signs of shingles can be:
A rash will usually appear a few days later. In rare cases shingles can cause pain without a rash.
Usually you get the shingles rash on your chest and tummy, but it can appear anywhere on your body including on your face, eyes and genitals.
The rash appears as blotches on your skin, on 1 side of your body only. A rash on both the left and right of your body is unlikely to be shingles.
The rash can be red, but this can be harder to see on brown and black skin.
The rash can form a cluster that only appears on 1 side of your body. The skin remains painful until after the rash has gone.
You might need medicine to help speed up your recovery and avoid longer-lasting problems.
This works best if you start taking it within 3 days of the shingles rash appearing.
You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.
You can also speak to a pharmacist if you think you have shingles. They can provide the same treatments you would get from a GP, if you need it.
Treatment for shingles depends on how severe your symptoms are and whether you're at risk of complications.
If you have a mild rash you may not need any treatment.
You may be offered medicine (antiviral tablets) to help speed up your recovery from shingles if:
You usually need to start taking the medicine within 3 days of your rash first appearing.
Treatment for shingles can also include medicines to help relieve pain, such as painkillers, steroid tablets or medicines that help with nerve pain.
If you have shingles, you may be able to get antiviral tablets from some pharmacies without seeing a GP.
If you have shingles there are things you can do to help with the symptoms.
take paracetamol to ease pain
keep the rash clean and dry to reduce the risk of infection
wear loose-fitting clothing
use a cool compress (a bag of ice cubes or frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel, or a wet cloth) a few times a day
do not let dressings or plasters stick to the rash
do not wear clothes with rough fibres that can irritate your skin
It can take up to 4 weeks for the shingles rash to heal.
Your skin can be painful for weeks after the rash has gone, but it usually gets better over time.
You cannot spread shingles to others. But people could catch chickenpox from you if they have not had chickenpox before or have not had the chickenpox vaccine.
This is because shingles is caused by the chickenpox virus.
Try to avoid:
Stay off work or school if the rash is still oozing fluid (weeping) and cannot be covered, or until the rash has dried out.
You can only spread the infection to other people while the rash oozes fluid.
You can cover the rash with loose clothing or a non-sticky dressing.
Most people recover from shingles without any problems. But it can sometimes cause complications, such as:
You can reduce the risk of complications by getting treatment as soon as possible after your symptoms start.
If you're pregnant and get shingles, it's mostly mild and there's usually no risk to you or your baby.
But a GP should arrange for a specialist to advise on whether you need treatment.
You cannot get shingles from someone with shingles or chickenpox.
But you can get chickenpox from someone with shingles if you have not had chickenpox before.
When people get chickenpox, the virus stays in the body. It can be reactivated later and cause shingles if someone's immune system is weakened.
This can be because of stress, certain conditions, or treatments like chemotherapy.
A shingles vaccine is available on the NHS for:
The vaccine helps reduce your risk of getting shingles.
If you get shingles after being vaccinated, the symptoms can be much milder.
You can get shingles more than once, so it's important to get vaccinated even if you've had shingles before.
Ask your GP surgery if you can get the vaccine on the NHS.
