Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. It’s caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) – the very same virus that causes chickenpox. After you’ve had chickenpox, VZV hangs around in your body, chilling out in your nerve tissues.
Sometimes, the virus wakes up again, causing shingles. While shingles usually appears as a stripe of blisters on the torso, it can show up in other places. So, can you get shingles in your mouth? Yes, but it’s less common than shingles on other parts of the body. When it does happen, it can be incredibly painful and disruptive.
Catching and treating shingles early is really important to avoid potential complications. This article will give you a complete rundown of what you need to know about shingles in the mouth, from symptoms to treatment.