7-10 days
Shingles-Symptoms. When the virus that causes chickenpox reactivates, it causes shingles. Early symptoms of shingles include headache, sensitivity to light, and flu-like symptoms without a fever. You may then feel itching, tingling, or pain where a band, strip, or small area of rash may appear several days or weeks later Shingles blisters usually scab over in 7-10 days and disappear completely in two to four weeks. In most healthy people, the blisters leave no scars, and the pain and itching go away after a few weeks or months. But people with weakened immune systems may develop shingles blisters that do not heal in a timely manner. Small blisters that appear only on the lips or around the mouth may be cold sores, sometimes called fever blisters. They're not shingles, but are instead caused by the herpes simplex virus. Itchy blisters that appear after hiking, gardening, or spending time outdoors could be a reaction to poison ivy, oak, or sumac. The shingles rash appears as painful skin blisters that appear on only one side of the face or body along the distribution of nerves on the skin. Typically, the rash occurs along your chest, back, abdomen, or face, but it may also affect other parts of the body like the limbs, neck, or lower back. Shingles Symptoms: Before the Rash. The pain of shingles may develop even when there is no rash. The patient may notice several days to a week of burning pain and sensitive skin before the rash appears. In these cases it may be difficult to determine the cause of the often severe pain. The characteristic rash of shingles rash starts as small blisters on a red base. New blisters continue to form for three to five days. The blisters appear along the path of individual nerves in a specific ray-like distribution (called a dermatomal pattern) and appear in a band-like pattern over an area of skin. Shingles Symptoms: Before the Rash. The pain of shingles may develop even when there is no rash. The patient may notice several days to a week of burning pain and sensitive skin before the rash appears. In these cases it may be difficult to determine the cause of the often severe pain. Shingles, also called herpes zoster or zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus remains inactive in the body.  The rash from shingles will heal in 1 to 3 weeks and the pain or irritation will usually go away in 3 to 5 weeks. When shingles occurs on the head or scalp, the symptoms usually go away eventually, but it may take many months. The painful rash may be in the area of your ear or eye. When shingles occurs on the head or scalp, symptoms can include headaches and weakness of one side of the face, which causes that side of the face to look droopy. T Shingles: Shingles-reactivation of chickenpox infection w/vzv virus. After chickenpox rash goes away, virus hides in nerve cells & is kept there by your immune system. At times of stress or health conditions that decrease immune system function, virus comes out along a path of 1 nerve as red patches & blisters.  A. Even when there is no rash, the pain of shingles may be apparent. Before a rash is visible, the patient may notice several days to a week of burning pain and sensitive skin. When the characteristic rash is not yet apparent, it may be difficult to determine the cause of the often severe pain. Eventually, the blisters pop, and the area starts to ooze. The affected areas will then crust over and heal. The duration of the outbreak may take three to four weeks from start to finish. On occasion, the pain will be present but the blisters may never appear. This can be a very confusing cause of local pain. HERPES ZOSTER RASH, SHINGLES PAIN. Shingles pain starts 4 days before the rash appears. The pain will be in one limb or on one side of the trunk (chest or abdomen.) I have never seen it on two sides at once, but see dermnetnz.org, where you can see good pictures as well. You can test yourself with a pin during these 4 days before the rash appears, to check for this condition. Compare the area of the pain with the same area on your other side. The skin in the area of the pain may have reduced sensation to a light prick, and increased pain from a firmer prick.
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/shingles-symptoms http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/ss/slideshow-shingles-pictures http://www.medicinenet.com/shingles_picture_slideshow/article.htm http://www.medicinenet.com/shingles_picture_slideshow/article.htm https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/shingles/fact_sheet.htm http://www.healthyhorns.utexas.edu/HT/HT_shingles.html https://www.healthtap.com/topics/how-long-do-shingles-blisters-last http://answers.webmd.com/answers/1173650/what-are-symptoms-and-signs-of-shingles-and-how-long-does-shingles-last http://www.holistic-doc-pain-support.com/shingles-pain.html
how long does it take for blisters to appear after a rash with shingles