VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Last fall, Jen Lewis came down with shingles. She thought she was developing psoriasis, but as the rash spread and became super painful, Jen thought, well, maybe not, and called her doctor. Sure enough, she had shingles.
So, she sat down with Dr. Ryan Light of TMPG Family Practice of Hampton Road for sort of a Shingles 101. That way, you won’t make the same mistake she did.
First of all, what is shingles?
"Shingles is a virus that affects our nervous system... It usually causes a very painful rash on the skin that lasts for approximately a week," Dr. Light explained. "Then, it can spread in a dermatomal distribution, and what that means is it is in certain areas where those nerves run. It follows a certain pattern."
Jen's shingles showed up on her right torso. Shingles rashes form along one or two dermatomes or nerve zones on one side and won’t cross the midline of your body. So, her rash never moved over to the left or went up to her face.
Jen's case was brought on by stress.
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"Usually, when you’re stressed out, whether that’s a physical or emotional stress, either one of those affects our cortisol levels and when that happens, our immune system is kind of weakened," Dr. Light said. "We’re more likely to get colds, the flu and also shingles."
Keep in mind: anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles. It is the same virus and lays dormant in our nervous system. It can reactivate and as we get older, our risk for shingles increases.
It tends to be more common in people over 50, but that is not always the case. Dr. Light sees patients in their 20s and 30s as well, but it is not as likely.
One reason for that is the chickenpox vaccine. It became available here in the U.S. in 1995. It is a two-dose shot for kids under 13 and just one is 95% effective at preventing moderate illness.
Jen did, of course, have chickenpox, in her 20s. However, she never imagined she would get shingles. She had no idea what it looked like or felt like.
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"One of the first indications is burning sensations. You can also get electrical tingling that follows nerves in the arms and the legs, or even around your torso," shared Dr. Light.
For most people, those feelings show up one to five days before a rash appears. The rash can become blister-filled and a week to 10 days later, the areas begin to scab up.
Within a few weeks, those go away, but Jen is still dealing with scarring. And make no mistake, the shingles areas hurt a lot.
Her pain was bad when she was in the thick of it, but some people deal with it longer. Dr. Light said the pain can actually last for months in some patients.
It can vary from person to person: mild to severe, dull, burning or sharp, constant or intermittent. Jen calls hers moderate. She also just felt awful, as she had a fever and a terrible headache. So, of course, she was worried about being contagious to her family.
Dr. Light eased those fears.
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"It’s not like the chickenpox virus that it originated from. It’s in your nervous system," he said. "It doesn’t spread, it’s not a respiratory disease in that it is spread through respiratory droplets like chickenpox."
Even so, according to the CDC, people who have never had chickenpox can get that virus from someone who has shingles. It’s not easy to catch though: a person would have to come in direct contact with fluid from the shingles blisters or breathe in particles from the blisters. Shingles itself is not contagious.
However, if you come down with it, early treatment is crucial. Dr. Light recommends getting an anti-viral medication within the first 48 hours.
Jen said that was her mistake. She didn’t know what she had and didn’t get to the doctor for five days. The antiviral was not effective for her because she didn’t get it early enough.
Jen also shared she had not gotten the shingles vaccine. So, she asked Dr. Light about that.
Watch previous coverage: Jen Lewis talks preventative measures to fight heart disease with her own cardiologist at Bon Secours
"There are two different vaccines out there," he said. "Zoster was the original one. It wasn’t 100%. The newest one is Shingrix and that’s about 98% effective. So, much more effective."
The vaccine is recommended for people over the age of 50, but Dr. Light also told Jen you can still get shingles even if you have been vaccinated and you can get it again even if you’ve had the virus before.
The takeaway: consider vaccination if you qualify, and if think you may be coming down with shingles, get to a doctor right away. The antiviral medication really helps get you through.
Take it from Jen, waiting is a mistake.
