Shingles (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Herpes zoster, Postherpetic neuralgia

Shingles is a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus - the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. It may not cause problems for many years. As you get older, the virus may reappear as shingles. Unlike chickenpox, you can't catch shingles from someone who has it.

Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching, usually on one side of the body or face. The pain can be mild to severe. Blisters then form and last from one to 14 days. If shingles appears on your face, it may affect your vision or hearing. The pain of shingles may last for weeks, months or even years after the blisters have healed.

There is no cure for shingles. Early treatment with medicines that fight the virus may help. These medicines may also help prevent lingering pain. A vaccine may prevent shingles or lessen its effects. The vaccine is for people 60 or over.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Start Here

Shingles(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/shingles/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/shinglesspanish/htm/index.htm
Shingles(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/shingles/
Shingles: Hope through Research(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shingles/detail_shingles.htm
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/trastornos/culebrilla.htm

Overviews

Shingles(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/infections/common/viral/574.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/infections/common/viral/574.printerview.html
Shingles(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shingles/shingles.htm
Shingles Disease - Questions and Answers (Herpes Zoster)(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/dis-faqs.htm

Prevention/Screening

CDC Recommends Shingles Vaccine(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2008/r080515.htm
Shingles Vaccine: What You Need to Know(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-shingles.pdf
Vaccine Approved for Shingles in Older People(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/506_shingles.html
Zostavax Questions and Answers(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/Cber/products/zosmer052506qa.htm

Specific Conditions

Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus (HZO)(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/infections/common/viral/745.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/infections/common/viral/745.printerview.html
Herpes Zoster Oticus(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/ramsay2/ramsay2.htm
Ramsay Hunt Syndrome(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/ramsay-hunt-syndrome/DS00878/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Shingles (Acute Herpes Zoster) and Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN)(Beth Israel Medical Center, Dept. of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care) - http://www.stoppain.org/pain_medicine/content/chronicpain/shingles.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.stoppain.org/multimedia/spanish/shingles_span.html

Pictures & Photographs

Shingles (Zoster)(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/zosterShingles.htm

Tutorials

Shingles(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://nihseniorhealth.gov/shingles/toc.html
Shingles(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/shingles/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/shinglesspanish/htm/index.htm

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Herpes Zoster(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Herpes+Zoster%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Neuralgia, Postherpetic(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Neuralgia,+Postherpetic%22

Research

Tai Chi Boosts Immunity to Shingles Virus in Older Adults(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/040607.htm

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Therapy for acute retinal necrosis. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18584565&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Overview and diagnosis of acute retinal necrosis syndrome. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18584564&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Prevention of herpes zoster: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18528318&tool=MedlinePlus
Shingles -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=herpes+zoster[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Organizations

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/

Seniors

Shingles(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://nihseniorhealth.gov/shingles/toc.html
Shingles(National Institute on Aging) - http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/shingles.asp

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Chickenpox - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/chickenpox.html
Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html
Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html
Seniors - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seniors.html
Skin, Hair and Nails - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/skinhairandnails.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Shingles is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/

Shingles - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/shingles.html