Wanganui doctors have been seeing higher than usual numbers of shingles patients and are urging people to contact their GP and get checked if they suspect they have it.
Dr Willem van Niekerk said he and his colleagues had been seeing an increase in numbers lately but did not know why.
"It's important that doctors have the opportunity to give a person with shingles the prescribed treatment within 72 hours of the rash appearing," Dr van Niekerk said.
"If we don't do this within that timeframe, unfortunately, there is little that can be done to treat the condition."
Shingles is a viral infection, which usually begins with a tingling, sharp, burning pain under the skin, followed after 1-3 days by a red rash and blisters. It is caused by the same virus as chickenpox (Varicella zoster) and lies latent in the nerve cells near the spinal cord after a bout of chickenpox.