4. Or No Rash
It’s also possible to experience shingles without any rash appearing at all however, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that it can’t be shingles just because no rash has appeared. These things are sent to confound us! It would be boring otherwise…
That said, there is a difference here. When there is no rash, this means the condition hasn’t been caused by the varicella-zoster virus, but rather the zoster sine herpete virus. This is still called shingles however and all the other symptoms will persist.
The unfortunate news is that this form of shingles is much harder to spot and to diagnose – for obvious reasons. On the plus side though, it does mean you can head out without feeling quite so self-conscious. Note that this version is much rarer out of the two.