Signs and Symptoms
Chickenpox
The typical rash of chickenpox is made up of groups of small, itchy blisters surrounded by inflamed skin. The rash usually begins on the face, scalp, or chest, quickly spreading throughout the body. It usually appears a few days after you have been exposed. Over 4 days, each blister tends to dry out and form a scab, which then falls off 9 - 13 days later.
The rash is usually preceded or accompanied by:
The typical rash of chickenpox is made up of groups of small, itchy blisters surrounded by inflamed skin. The rash usually begins on the face, scalp, or chest, quickly spreading throughout the body. It usually appears a few days after you have been exposed. Over 4 days, each blister tends to dry out and form a scab, which then falls off 9 - 13 days later.
The rash is usually preceded or accompanied by:
- Fever, usually low grade
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Flu like symptoms
Shingles
The typical rash of shingles begins as redness followed by blisters that usually cover only one side of your body. The rash follows the path of the nerve where the virus has lain dormant. About 50 - 60% of people with shingles have the rash on their trunk. The next most common site is one side of the face, which may even involve the tongue, eye, or ear.
Before the rash appears, you will have warning symptoms of pain (usually a sharp, aching, piercing, tearing, or burning sensation) on the part of your body where the rash appears 1 - 5 days later. That area may also feel itchy, numb, and unbearably sensitive to touch, even just from your clothes touching your skin.
Other symptoms that you may experience include:
The typical rash of shingles begins as redness followed by blisters that usually cover only one side of your body. The rash follows the path of the nerve where the virus has lain dormant. About 50 - 60% of people with shingles have the rash on their trunk. The next most common site is one side of the face, which may even involve the tongue, eye, or ear.
Before the rash appears, you will have warning symptoms of pain (usually a sharp, aching, piercing, tearing, or burning sensation) on the part of your body where the rash appears 1 - 5 days later. That area may also feel itchy, numb, and unbearably sensitive to touch, even just from your clothes touching your skin.
Other symptoms that you may experience include:
- Fever
- Malaise (feeling unwell) and other flu like symptoms including muscle aches
- Headache
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Upset stomach
