17/11/2025
When I see a client that’s in pain, it’s always important that I understand the cause of their pain. Is it muscular? An irritated tendon from unaccustomed activity? Is it bone? When people present with shoulder pain, it could be the gall bladder referring pain to the right shoulder or the spleen or pancreas referring pain to the left shoulder, its not always musculoskeletal in nature.
Sometimes, this pain can be viral, attack your nerves…and precede a painful rash. We call it shingles.
What is shingles?
It’s the Herpes Zoster virus. If you had chicken pox as a child, the virus remains in your body but is suppressed by your immune system, however, if your immune system is in a poor place or you are immune compromised, it can reactivate. One-in-three people will have singles in their lifetime.
The rash will usually only appear on one side of the body and often around the ribcage but can appear on the mouth or face affecting the facial and trigeminal nerves and even the eyes. In fact, Bell’s Palsy is a type of the Zoster virus.
The rash will appear, progress through to a blister like appearance and eventually dry out, can last 4-5 weeks and be very sensitive to touch.
The elderly are often more at risk and are offered a vaccine over the age of 60, however the discomfort can last up to 3 months after the rash has gone. A person can experience dysesthesia; an unpleasant, abnormal pain, caused by nerve damage along a sensory nerve where the rash has appeared, however, this pain can be felt before the rash even appears.
What are the symptoms?
Intense burning pain and/or tingling even before the appearance of the rash.
A localised rash usually on one side of the body, often the rib cage, but sometimes the face.
Feeling unwell, tired and run-down.
If antiviral medications are started within a few days of the rash appearing they may shorten and lessen the discomfort and stop the virus developing into postherpetic neuralgia; which can cause chronic nerve pain.
Can you catch it?
You can’t catch shingles from someone who has it, but you can contract chicken pox if you’ve never had it before.
If you have an increase in pain and a rash appear recently, you may want to speak to you GP or local pharmacist.
