NBCE Exam 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners

The condition characterized by unilateral thoracic pain followed by the formation of vesicles in the same region is known as herpes zoster, commonly referred to as shingles. This condition occurs when the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox, reactivates in the body after lying dormant in the nerve roots.

Typically, herpes zoster begins with a prodrome that may include localized pain or itching in the area where the rash will later develop. This pain is often described as sharp or burning in nature, and it usually precedes the appearance of the characteristic vesicular rash by a few days. The vesicles themselves typically present in a dermatomal distribution, meaning they follow the path of a single nerve root, which explains the unilateral aspect of the pain and rash.

In contrast, herpes simplex primarily causes oral or genital lesions without the same pattern of unilateral pain and dermatome-specific vesicles. Chickenpox, on the other hand, typically presents as a widespread body rash and does not follow the dermatomal pattern like shingles. Though shingles and herpes zoster refer to the same condition, choosing herpes zoster specifies the reactivation of the virus that leads to the symptoms described.