Herpes Zoster

Alternative names:

shingles

Symptoms:

• warning symptom of unilateral pain, tingling or burning sensation limited to a specific part of the body
• reddening of the skin (erythema) followed by the appearance of blisters (vesicles)
• grouped, dense, deep, small blisters (vesicles) that ooze and crust
• lymph node swelling may occur
• pain and burning sensation may be intense

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

• vision abnormalities
• taste abnormalities
• drooping eyelid (ptosis)
• loss of eye motion (ophthalmoplegia)
• hearing loss
• joint pain
• genital lesions (female)
• genital lesions (male)
• abdominal pain

Signs and tests:

Diagnosis is suspected based on the appearance of the skin lesions, and strengthened by a prior history of chickenpox or shingles.

Tests are rarely necessary, but may include:

• viral culture of skin lesion
• Tzanck test of skin lesion
• CBC may show elevated WBC (a nonspecific sign of infection)
• specific immunoglobulin measurement demonstrates elevation of varicella immune globulin