What is shingles (herpes zoster)?

Shingles is a disorder caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (chickenpox) that has remained dormant, often for decades, after the patient's initial exposure to the virus. It may cause severe pain and blistering along the path of the affected nerve.

How do members experience shingles (herpes zoster)?

Top 5 symptoms reported by people with shingles (herpes zoster)*

*Reports may be affected by other conditions and/or medication side effects. We ask about general symptoms (anxious mood, depressed mood, fatigue, pain, and stress) regardless of condition.

Top treatments taken by people for shingles (herpes zoster)*

*Data from patients with shingles (herpes zoster), who have ever reported treatments, ordered by their reporting frequency during the last 5 years.

Compare treatments taken by people with shingles (herpes zoster)*

Treatment
Perceived effectiveness
Side effects
Total evaluations
Tried for
Treatment

(Valtrex)
Perceived effectiveness
No evaluations
Side effects
No evaluations
Total evaluations
0
Tried for
shingles (herpes zoster) (3)

*Data from patients with shingles (herpes zoster), who have ever reported treatments, ordered by their reporting frequency during the last 5 years.

Who has shingles (herpes zoster) on PatientsLikeMe?

Age

Age Proportion # of patients
<20 1
20s 7
30s 56
40s 81
50s 135
60s 193
70+ 159

Distribution of sex

Sex

Sex Proportion # of patients
Male 146
Female 487