While powering through exhaustion and staying on call 24/7 are often treated as badges of honor, ignoring your body’s early warnings can easily backfire. EGOT-winning actress Viola Davis learned that the hard way when dealing with shingles, an ordeal she described to People as “debilitating pain.” The blistering rash began on her stomach and wrapped around to her back, turning everyday motions – like getting dressed, standing up or even trying to lie down comfortably – into a genuine struggle. Now 61, Davis is partnering with public health initiatives to remind adults over 50 that they are susceptible, encouraging them to spot the warning signs early and take preventive action.
“I knew absolutely nothing about shingles,” Davis told the outlet, admitting that she initially thought she had been bitten by a poisonous spider. The bright side is that quick action makes a massive difference: starting prescription antivirals within the first 72 hours can significantly reduce severity, and staying up to date on modern vaccines offers strong protection against lasting nerve damage.
Why are so many people getting shingles right now?
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), epidemiological data show that the incidence of shingles has been steadily increasing over the past decades, attributable to population aging and changes in population-level immunity.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about one-third of all people in the U.S. will get shingles at some point in their lives. As people age, there is a natural decline in cell-mediated immunity (immunosenescence), so the risk of viral reactivation increases significantly after age 50.
In addition, high chronic stress, sleep disturbances and overall fatigue put the body at risk of reactivating the virus, as high levels of chronic stress suppress the body’s natural defenses through T-cells. Another interesting epidemiological change public health experts point to is that, before routine childhood chickenpox vaccination, most adults were regularly exposed to children with wild chickenpox, and this exposure served as a natural booster capable of keeping the latent virus suppressed. Since there is no longer wild-type chickenpox among children, it is important for people who had chickenpox many years ago to get vaccinated to maintain high levels of neutralizing antibodies.
What is shingles?
As explained by the World Health Organization (WHO). herpes zoster (shingles) is a blistering, painful viral infection (clinically, a localized reactivation) caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV), one of the human herpesviruses.
The immune system can control active viremia, and generalized fever and an itchy skin rash resolve once the individual has had chickenpox as a child. But the virus is not eliminated from the body. It then ascends along the sensory nerve and, for years or decades, hides in a dormant, non-replicating state in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord or in the ganglia at the base of the brain from which the cranial nerves are formed.
After decades, if immune surveillance becomes insufficient, dormant viral particles begin to multiply again. The active virus travels down the peripheral sensory nerve fiber to the exact strip of dermatome (skin) supplied by that one nerve. Sensory nerves travel down the left or right side of the body, so a characteristic feature of shingles is that the painful rash, which appears, is usually a single band on one side of the body, and stops sharply at the anatomical midline in the middle of the chest.
What’s happening in your body
The pathogenesis of shingles is a well-characterized biological sequence that ranges from deep neurological inflammation to overt skin lesions.
As soon as the varicella-zoster virus begins replicating within the sensory ganglion, it causes acute ganglionitis, which is swelling and inflammation of the nerve cluster itself, according to research published by the NIH. This process makes the sensory nerve fibers “hyperactive,” meaning they send out constant, spontaneous pain messages to the brain. The early “prodromal” stage lasts two to five days before any visible signs appear on the skin, and patients experience unusual burning, sharp electrical shocks, deep aching, or extreme sensitivity (allodynia) of the skin, such that even the light touch of a cotton shirt is painful.
The virus spreads along the axon to the epidermal layers, where it invades and kills keratinocytes and other epidermal cells. Destructive viral replication elicits a local immune response, leading to localized erythema and aggregates of small, fluid-filled vesicles (blisters).
The blisters fill with lymph containing millions of infectious, live viral particles. These blisters weep and harden over seven to 10 days, and the cutaneous rash heals in two to four weeks. But with acute inflammatory injury to the underlying sensory nerve pathway, it can take a long time for damaged nerve endings to stop misfiring, even after the skin has fully healed.
Causes of shingles
Cell-mediated T lymphocytes are the only cells responsible for holding viral particles in check, and their failure to do so causes shingles, the eruption of dormant varicella-zoster particles from latency. The most important biological risk factor is age-related immune deficiency, which is the decline of natural T-cell surveillance after the 5th decade of life.
When stressed psychologically and also physically for a long time, circulating adrenal resources get stripped away, and cellular immune vigilance gets lowered – especially when, as Davis mentioned, she was a new mom and extremely exhausted. “I was riding off of my Oscar nomination after The Help. So I was working, working, working, running myself into the ground,” the starlet recalled. “And then all of a sudden, I woke up with flu-like symptoms and an extraordinarily painful rash. I mean, I would put it a nine out of 10.”
Immunosuppressive diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, active leukemia, lymphoma, or autoimmune diseases, weaken the body’s ability to control latent viral reservoirs. Medical therapies, including chemotherapy, systemic corticosteroids, post-transplant anti-rejection drugs, or biological drugs, which reduce immunity, greatly increase the likelihood of viral reactivation. A dormant virally affected nerve ganglion may also be stimulated by physical trauma or major surgery in the vicinity of the ganglion.
What’s particularly interesting is that Davis told People she felt as though she was “immune to any disease” as she regularly worked out and “ate right.” The South Carolina native explained, “I felt like I was a soldier and the more that I could muster through, the stronger I was. I didn’t know that that’s not what strength is about. Strength is about sort of loving on your body and experiencing good health as you age.”
Health risks and complications
Shingles isn’t just a temporary skin eruption, but is a serious neurocutaneous disease with neurological and vascular complications that can be permanent.
The Mayo Clinic states that the most common and feared complication is called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). PHN is characterized by intense, stabbing, burning, or jabbing nerve pain that lasts for three months or more (and in some cases, years) after the skin rash has gone. This nerve pain is long-lasting and results from damaged sensory nerve fibers that send abnormal, exaggerated pain signals to the central nervous system, leading to significant problems with sleep, mobility and mental health.
Herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), a reactivation of the virus along the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve, is another important complication. If not treated promptly by an ophthalmologist, this can lead to extensive corneal ulceration, secondary glaucoma and uveitis with permanent partial and total loss of vision.
If the virus reactivates in the facial and vestibulocochlear nerves near the ear, it can result in Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which presents with severe ear pain, facial muscle paralysis, vertigo and hearing loss.
In addition, according to the NIH, persons with an active shingles infection have an increased risk of ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) in the weeks following an outbreak, presumably due to systemic vascular inflammation and viral endothelial injury.
What to do about shingles symptoms
A shingles outbreak is best treated with prompt health care, prescription antiviral medication, specific pain management and appropriate skin care.
Prescription oral antiviral drugs, like valacyclovir, famciclovir, or acyclovir, should be started as soon as possible, preferably within the first 72 hours after the rash appears. If you start antivirals during this early period, they will stop viral replication, hasten healing of skin blisters, shorten the illness and greatly reduce the risk of postherpetic neuralgia in the long run.
“People should continue to follow established vaccine recommendations and talk with their clinician about the shingles vaccine when they’re eligible,” Kersten Bartelt, a research clinician in Verona, Wisconsin, advised. “It’s also a reminder that shingles can occur in younger adults, so anyone with a painful, blistering rash should seek timely evaluation.”
Clinicians may combine antivirals with prescription nerve medications, such as gabapentin or pregabalin, short-term anti-inflammatory medications, or topical lidocaine patches after the skin is closed to treat severe acute nerve pain.
Localized skin care involves keeping the affected area clean, dry, and loosely covered with sterile, non-stick dressings to prevent secondary bacterial infections and avoid accidental viral transmission to the household. Applying cool, damp compresses for 15 minutes multiple times daily will help soothe burning skin and wearing loose, seamless clothing helps reduce painfully irritating friction.
When to see a doctor
If you are experiencing unexplained pain, burning or tingling sensation on one side of your body, neck, or face, you should get a medical assessment as soon as possible, even before you see a rash breaking out.
If you do have blisters on your forehead, near your eye, or on the tip of your nose, seek immediate emergency medical care, as this indicates involvement of the ophthalmic nerve, which threatens your eyesight, says the Cleveland Clinic.
Emergency evaluation is also necessary when you experience weakness or droop on one side of your face, extreme dizziness, severe changes in your hearing, a stiff neck with a high fever, confusion, or blisters that show signs of secondary bacterial infection, including spreading warmth, red streaking, and yellow purulent pus. People with weakened immune systems who observe lesions spreading to several parts of the body should seek immediate attention at the hospital, where intravenous antiviral treatment may be necessary.
In conversation with People, Davis urged readers, “You gotta feel like you are important enough, that life is not supposed to be lived with anything that causes you debilitating pain. You gotta go to your doctor. You gotta go to your healthcare provider.”
Bottom line
The conversation about Viola Davis’ shingles offers insight into the extent of nerve pain and physical fatigue that accompany the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus. The virus affects one in three adults at some point in their lives and can spread along sensory nerves, resulting in blisters on one side of the body, acute nerve pain and later complications, including postherpetic neuralgia and vision loss. The best protection against this painful condition is to seek medical attention within 72 hours of symptom onset, start antiviral medication, and receive two doses of the recombinant shingles vaccine after age 50.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you ever fully recover from shingles?
Yes, most individuals recover completely within two to four weeks as the blisters scab over and heal, although roughly 10% to 18% of patients experience lingering nerve pain known as postherpetic neuralgia that can persist for months or years.
What ethnicity gets shingles the most?
Anne Kamwila, Healthcare Policy Analyst, tells Blavity Health, “According to large-scale epidemiological datasets from the CDC and the NIH, white adults have historically exhibited the highest incidence rates of shingles, with rates approximately 30% to 50% higher than those observed in Black adults, though individuals of all racial and ethnic backgrounds remain susceptible as they age.”
Citations
Etienne V. Viola Davis Recalls ‘Debilitating Pain’ Due to Shingles and Learning the ‘Key to Aging Beautifully’ (Exclusive). People.com. October 8, 2026. https://people.com/viola-davis-recalls-debilitating-pain-after-shingles-diagnosis-exclusive-12163080
Kawai K, Yawn BP, Wollan P, Harpaz R. Increasing Incidence of Herpes Zoster Over a 60-year Period From a Population-based Study. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2016;63(2):221-226. doi:10.1093/cid/ciw296
CDC. Shingles Facts and Stats. Shingles (Herpes Zoster). April 12, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/shingles/data-research/index.html
WHO. Shingles (herpes zoster). Who.int. February 4, 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/shingles-(herpes-zoster)
Gershon AA, Breuer J, Cohen JI, et al. Varicella zoster virus infection. Nature Reviews Disease Primers. 2015;1(1). doi:10.1038/nrdp.2015.16
Mayo Clinic. Postherpetic neuralgia – Symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. 2018. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/postherpetic-neuralgia/symptoms-causes/syc-20376588
Cleveland Clinic. Shingles in the Eye: What It Is, Causes & Treatment. Cleveland Clinic. March 18, 2026. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/shingles-in-the-eye-herpes-zoster-ophthalmicus