Herpes Zoster

Comments:
Herpes Zoster: (aka shingles) is an acute skin disease caused by reactivation of varicella-zoster virus. It is characterized by pruritic, painful vesiculo-bullous skin lesions that are usually unilateral and in a dermatomal distribution. Two or more contiguous dermatomes may be involved. Non-contiguous dermatomal involvement is uncommon. See next image for a review of dermatomes.

At the disease onset, there is pain, tenderness, and paresthesia in the involved dermatome. Papules appear in 24 hrs. followed by vesicles/bullae (48 hrs) and pustules (96 hrs.) New crops of lesions continuously appear for up to 1 week. Lesions consist of clear vesicles (sometimes hemorrhagic) on an erythematous base. Vesicles are fragile and rupture easily to form crusted erosions (7 to 10 days).

The photograph shows grouped vesicles in different stages of development on an erythematous base. The lesions are unilateral (right side) and distributed in T9-T11 dermatomes.