Herpes zoster is a viral skin disease that is most prevalent in the spring and is caused by the varicella-zoster virus infection, which is latent in the body and causes clusters of herpes in bands along the innervated areas of the skin, accompanied by neuralgia. The elderly and people with chronic wasting diseases are susceptible to herpes zoster, and the disease is more severe once contracted. The folklore of this disease is known as “string waist dragon” and in the literature it is called “tangled waist fire dan”, because herpes zoster that affects the chest and waist area accounts for more than 60% of the incidence of this disease. In fact, the disease can also invade the head, face, ears and upper and lower limbs. Because of the nerve-friendly nature of the virus, the onset of the disease is always along the nerves in the form of strips, hence the name “herpes zoster”. Modern medicine believes that this virus is invaded by respiratory infection and latent in the nerve cells of the posterior root ganglion of the spinal nerve or other sites of disease. The virus usually does not develop, but because of the elderly and the weak body, the resistance of the whole body is reduced, and then encounter physical exertion, cold and other triggers, the disease is prone to develop. At the beginning of the disease, the main symptoms are general fatigue and weakness, loss of appetite, mild fever, and soon the onset site feels burning and jumping pain. If it occurs in the chest or lower back, it is often misdiagnosed as heart disease or acute abdomen, etc. When you get herpes zoster, 1 to 3 days later, the skin at the onset site appears as green pea-sized, very tense papules and blisters, which are distributed along the nerves and arranged in clusters in a striped pattern. If the rash occurs on the chest or waist, it is mostly from the side of the spine obliquely to the front and bottom, and rarely develops symmetrically. After a few days, the blisters change from clear, transparent blisters to cloudy pustules, and some of them may break down to form erosions. In the elderly, the blisters tend to be large, bloody, and even necrotic. In mild cases, the blisters can dry up naturally in about three weeks and crust over, leaving no scar after shedding; in severe cases, the course of the disease can extend to more than a month. Elderly patients often experience severe pain that affects sleep, and if treatment is not timely, pain remains after the lesions have subsided and does not completely subside for months. If herpes zoster appears on the head and face, be alert for headaches and facial paralysis due to invasion of the head and facial nerves. If the cornea of the eye is invaded, it can even lead to blindness. The condition can be more severe in older, weaker people and those with chronic diseases such as tumors. It is important to note that there is also an incomplete form of herpes zoster, where the blisters do not appear or appear rarely, except for severe pain at the site of onset, which is easily misdiagnosed and should be taken seriously to avoid delaying treatment and finding serious consequences. Patients with herpes zoster should ask their doctor to confirm the diagnosis and actively treat them when they are not experiencing pain at the site.