How to treat shingles on the face

Shingles causes a painful rash that can bleed, burn, or itch. It typically affects just one side of the body. Shingles can appear on the face, though most people develop symptoms on their torso.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 3 adults will develop shingles at some point during their lives. Shingles, or herpes zoster, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox — so anyone who has previously had chickenpox can develop shingles.

Once someone has had chicken pox, the virus stays in their body, hidden in the nerve cells but does not usually cause further symptoms. Sometimes, however, the virus becomes re-activated, and the infection returns as shingles, not chickenpox.

 

What causes shingles on the face and eyes?

The location of the shingles rash depends on which nerves the virus has infected.

Shingles symptoms appear on the face when the chickenpox virus infects the facial nerves.

When shingles affects the eyes, the condition is medically referred to as herpes zoster ophthalmicus.

Doctors do not know why some people who have had chickenpox get shingles and others do not.

People with weak immune systems — including older people, people with HIV, people with AIDS, and people taking drugs that weaken the immune system — are more vulnerable to shingles.

Anyone of any age can, however, develop shingles on the face.

Shingles vs. other skin conditions

Shingles is different from other conditions in several ways:

• People may experience pain, including burning, tingling, or electrical sensations on their skin for 1 to 2 days before the rash develops.
• The shingles rash looks like a group of small blisters or lesions.
• The rash usually develops in one area, not as patches of blisters in different areas on the face.
• Shingles usually affects just one side of the face.
• Makeup, sun exposure, or an allergy do not trigger shingles.
• Shingles will not spread from one area of the body through contact, unlike some other rashes.
• Some people develop more lesions after the initial outbreak. These blisters might be near the location of the first rash, or somewhere else.
• The rash begins as sore blisters that may then crack, bleed, and scab over.
• Shingles lasts 1 to 2 weeks.
• Shingles sometimes causes other symptoms, such as a fever, headache, muscle aches, and stomach pain or vomiting.
• Only people who have previously had chickenpox can get shingles.