ABC Medical Center > Diseases > Shingles

What is shingles?

30 December 2025

It is an infectious process caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which is responsible for chickenpox. This virus remains for life in the body of anyone who has had that disease, occasionally reactivating as shingles (herpes zoster). Its manifestation consists of skin rashes that cause pain and inflammation, grouped in a stripe that appears on only one side of the body.

Despite not being a fatal disease, shingles causes intense pain and has a higher incidence in individuals with a depressed immune system or in older adults.

Someone with shingles has the potential to spread the varicella-zoster virus to anyone who comes into contact with the skin lesions they present, though the infected person will develop chickenpox, not shingles.

Signs and symptoms Shingles

  • Reddish skin rashes that appear after:
    • Pain.
    • Burning.
    • Numbness.
    • Tingling.
    • Hypersensitivity.
  • The lesions evolve, turning into blisters that rupture and form crusts.
  • Itching.
  • Elevated temperature (fever).
  • Headache (migraine).
  • Photosensitivity.
  • Fatigue.

Although shingles is not fatal, it can lead to serious complications such as:

  • Facial paralysis.
  • Hearing damage.
  • Balance disorders.
  • Bacterial skin infections.
  • Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).
  • Eye problems and blindness.
  • Encephalitis.

How to Prevent Shingles

There is a vaccine that is recommended for application starting at 20 years of age for those with a weakened immune system, or in people over 50 who have had chickenpox.

Although the vaccine does not guarantee that shingles will not manifest, it does ensure a decrease in the intensity of the condition.

Diagnosis and treatment Shingles

Diagnosis is usually simple through the analysis of symptoms, clinical history, and a physical examination.

The presence of the rash is usually enough to identify shingles, although if the doctor deems it necessary, they may take a sample of the lesions to analyze them in the laboratory and confirm the diagnosis.

Since there is no specific cure for shingles, treatment aims to control the symptoms and promote recovery from the disease, thus reducing the risks of serious complications, through antiviral medications, corticosteroids, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, and anesthetics.

In the Department of Internal Medicine at Centro Médico ABC, we provide medical care services with the highest quality and safety, from prevention, diagnosis, timely treatment, and follow-up for infectious, respiratory, endocrinological, dermatological, rheumatic, nephrological, gastrointestinal, and hematological pathologies, covering both chronic-degenerative conditions and acute episodes, through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary model.

Related centers and departments Shingles

Internal medicine
Radiology and Molecular Imaging
Clinical Laboratory

Fuentes:

  • cun.es
  • topdoctors.es
  • clevelandclinic.org
  • mayoclinic.org
  • medlineplus.gov
  • msdmanuals.com
  • middlesexhealth.org
  • medigraphic.com
  • Hernández SR, López PLI, Eirín REJ, et al. Rehabilitación oftalmológica de una parálisis del tercer par craneal como secuela de un herpes zóster ocular. Rev Cub de Med Fis y Rehab. 2021;13(1):72-86.
  • Chacón GC, Rivera FS, González CA. Actualización del Herpes zóster. Revista Médica Sinergia. 2020;5(09):1-11.
  • Alvarado FM, Medina CNV, Quesada MC. Síndrome de Ramsay Hunt: una temida presentación del herpes zóster. Revista Médica Sinergia. 2020;5(06):1-13.
  • Vázquez M, Cravioto P, Galván F, et al. Varicela y herpes zóster: retos para la salud pública. Salud Pública México. 2017;59(6):650-656.

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