The first signs of a shingles outbreak can be very vague and may be mistaken for another illness. Early signs of a shingles outbreak to look for include:

• Fever, headache, nausea, and chills
• Numbness on one side of the body or face
• Tingling, burning, or shooting pain on one side of the body or face (pain may be constant or intermittent)
• Itching on one side of the body or face

These earlier signs are followed by redness and swelling at the site of the pain, itchiness, or numbness, along with clusters of blisters filled with clear fluid. New blisters will continue to appear for up to 5 days. These blisters can be scattered in patches or form a continuous band (dermatome), and they look a lot like chicken pox. The blisters can be mildly irritating, itchy, or intensely painful.

The rash and blisters from shingles almost always occur on just one side of the body. Shingles may appear on the following areas of the body:

• One side of the torso
• Waistline
• One side of the face
• Buttocks
• Arm
• Leg

Within 14 days, the blisters become filled with pus and then form a scab. At this point, they no longer contain the virus. The rash usually goes away in about 3 to 5 weeks. The blisters leave no scars, but you may have discoloration of the skin where they were.

Check out the Pictures section to see what shingles looks like.