Shingles: Not just a band of blisters around the body

It can appear in hidden places, making it difficult to diagnose, seniors told at event

- Judith Tan

Madam H.K. Tan, 76, had shingles in her inner left ear.

It was not diagnosed in time, resulting in her having Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a complication that caused a painful blistering rash in her ear, facial nerve paralysis on the left side of her face, vertigo and headaches.

Audiovisual executive Lionel Lee, 60, thought he was having a heart attack when the pain in his lower back moved to his chest.

He, too, was diagnosed with shingles too late for antiviral medication to work.

The cases of Madam Tan and Mr Lee - in 2014 and 2023, respectively - show that shingles symptoms do not always appear as a band of blisters on the torso, as many believe.

They shared their experiences at Singapore’s first shingles awareness ground-up initiative, called “Shielding from Shingles”, which was launched at Far East Square on Oct 28.

Shingles is sometimes difficult to diagnose because its initial symptoms, such as pain and tingling, can mimic other conditions before the characteristic rash appears. Also, when shingles occurs in people with a compromised immune system, there can be no rash at all.

More than nine in 10 people in Singapore aged 50 years or older carry the chickenpox virus, which may later reactivate as shingles, putting them at risk of the disease.