CKS is no longer commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE remains committed to providing a replacement service for CKS and is currently reviewing its options. In the meantime, although CKS content is now not being maintained, it still remains relevant and will continue to be made available. CKS content was generated under a programme of topic creation and update. To check if the topic you are viewing is current or out of date, please refer to the topic publication details by clicking on the 'How up-to-date is this topic?' link in the left hand menu on individual topic pages.
Shingles - Management
View full scenario no prescriptions
How do I know my patient has it?
- Diagnosis is usually made on clinical grounds [Mounsey et al, 2005; Volpi et al, 2005; Wilson, 2007]:
- Prodrome (1–4 days before the rash) — fever and myalgia, with burning, tingling, numbness, or pruritus in the affected skin.
- Acute (painful rash lasting 7–10 days) — macules and papules develop into vesicular lesions in a dermatomal distribution (most commonly on the thorax). These then burst, releasing varicella-zoster virus.
- Healing (2–4 weeks) — the lesions crust over.
© NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement