# A question about shingles (The Disease) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 15, 2024, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289 "2024-09-15T08:28:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289/1 "2024-09-15T08:28:22Z")
This was a train of thought brought about by a commercial about getting the shingles vaccine. My memories of having chicken pox as a kid are that it was pretty mild for me and wasn’t difficult to ignore the itching and to not scratch. I don’t suppose that mildness of chicken pox would have any relation to mildness of severity of shingles, but I do wonder if the hives always form blisters. When I searched for information, it would seem that if the rash forms, it does always form blisters, but that shingles could be more severe, or less severe. So thats my question, if shingles forms a rash, does it always turn into blisters or can there be hives without the blisters? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289/2 "2024-09-15T14:28:03Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > So thats my question, if shingles forms a rash, does it always turn into blisters or can there be hives without the blisters? Here’s a good description of the stages of shingles. Hives are not involved-hives are a histamine reaction to an irritant like a food or medicine. In 43 years of being a nurse I’ve never seen a case of shingles that was milder than chicken pox nor one where there was a preeruptive rash that didn’t evolve into the blister stage. Pre-eruptive might be only distracting and annoying, acute eruptive (the blister stage) often becomes hell-on-earth with severe pain and can risk problems with eyesight, etc depending upon where it is located. That hell-on-earth stage can last for weeks, unlike childhood chickenpox which kids shake off in 5-7 days usually. > **[The Stages of Shingles](https://www.drugtopics.com/view/the-stages-of-shingles)** > > The clinical manifestations of shingles can be divided into 3 phases. “My childhood chickenpox was no big deal so I don’t need to get the shingles vaccine because if I get shingles they won’t be a big deal either for me” is not a bet you want to make. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289/3 "2024-09-15T23:09:17Z")
Please see the recent thread about one of our posters and their severe pain (@BippityBoppityBoo provided good information there as well). > [@So I Have Shingles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-have-shingles/1001448): > > I’m 53. My doctor told me, when I turned 50, that I should consider the singles vaccine if I had chicken pox as a child. The thing is, I didn’t know if I actually had chicken pox (I do now, of course), and Mamahomie didn’t either. The pharmacist told me to get it anyway, as the worst it could do is nothing. But I kept putting it off. Big mistake. I think we caught it early enough that antivirals will help and this won’t last a month, like it can when it’s untreated. I’m taking Acyclovir as pre… I mean, I’m concerned enough that I got the Shingrix vaxx despite blood work a few years ago that indicated I hadn’t ever had chickenpox, and therefore got the Chickenpox vaccine. If said bloodwork is correct, I’m not going to ever develop shingles (well, unless I get a direct exposure to the virus and the vaccine fails (it does have a reported 92% efficacy overall) and I still took the precaution just in case the bloodwork was wrong. I felt moderately bad for 48-72 hours both shots. Worth it. ---
**Author:** ![TXRebel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@TXRebel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TXRebel)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289/4 "2024-09-16T12:10:28Z")
As old as I am I’ll take any vaccination they’ve got. I watched my Mom and my Grandma go through shingles and if there is a way for me to avoid it you can bet I’ll try. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289/5 "2024-09-16T14:46:08Z")
I have had two bouts of shingles. The first barely got to the bumpy stage. The bumps went away without popping. The second was just a light, almost itchy rash in the same spot. No bumps of any sorts. I take lysine to stop it early. The Rx prescribed for the first bout didn’t seem to work noticeably better. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289/6 "2024-09-16T21:59:30Z")
I’m sure it is possible to get shingles with few symptoms. However, usually blisters are present; this and the rash being limited to one dermatome (skin area supplied by one spinal nerve root) are the main diagnostic observations. The main concern with shingles is the ten percent of cases where the nerve pain and damage lasts for years; it can also affect the eyes or hearing. Chicken pox is usually mild, but can rarely cause swelling of the brain or toxic shock. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289/7 "2024-09-16T22:40:26Z")
Me too. Not cause I like them. Things never go light for me. Out of the seven of us kids I’m the only one who didn’t have Chicken pox. Or didn’t have any sign of it. After that went down I had the CP vaccine. Age 10. My doc 2 years ago said vax for Shingles. I argued because I’d had the CP vax. He said do it anyway. I had a reaction to it. A rash and burning pain. In one spot on my neck. I said, well heck, all that. No way I’ll get full blown Shingles. I still got a mild case of shingles last year. A month of a large blistery rash on my upper rib cage. Flu like symptoms a few days. I suppose it could’ve been worse. I fear a bad, bad case. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289/8 "2024-09-17T11:30:32Z")
The conventional wisdom is that you can’t catch chickenpox twice. But I managed it! Had a mild case when I was 7 years old and then caught it again from my kids when I was 40. Doctor said it has mutated over the years and childhood immunity isn’t what it was and she was seeing more and more cases like mine. (I went to see Doc as I was sure it must have been shingles.) If shingles has mutated in the same way, your chickenpox derived immunity may have little effect. Get the vaccine! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289/9 "2024-09-17T12:05:41Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I have had two bouts of shingles. The first barely got to the bumpy stage. The bumps went away without popping. The second was just a light, almost itchy rash in the same spot. No bumps of any sorts. > > I take lysine to stop it early. The Rx prescribed for the first bout didn’t seem to work noticeably better. Just one round for me at age 60-ish, but like you no big deal. A couple inch diameter patch of what looked like a plague of bug bites on my flank for a few days (5? 10? I forget) with mild itching, then gone. I did see my PCP over it because my habit is to show them every abnormality every time. They can’t fix what they don’t know about. I’d had chickenpox as a kid and hadn’t had the shingles vax. After the outbreak I was told to wait 6 (IIRC) months then get the vax. I did, and had no noticeable reaction to the vax. The usual poke and a small lump of liquid in there, but otherwise _nada_. I’m told that was a really fortunate outcome overall.