Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Also known as herpes zoster, it
often appears as a band of blisters that wraps from the middle of your back around
one side of your chest to your breastbone. Other parts of your body can be involved as

The pain of shingles can be excruciating, and the cause might not be immediately
evident. But once the telltale rash and blisters start on one side of your body, it's more
easily identified as shingles.

Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes
chickenpox. After you've had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive (dormant) in your
nerves. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles.

Shingles isn't a life-threatening condition, but it can be very painful. Sometimes, the rash leads to a debilitating complication called postherpetic neuralgia. This condition causes the skin to remain painful and sensitive to touch for months or even years after the rash clears up.

Typically, the shingles rash occurs on only one side of your body. This is an
important sign to help diagnose shingles. It may appear, for example, as a band of
blisters that wraps from the middle of your back around one side of your chest to your
breastbone, following the path of the nerve where the virus had been inactive.
Sometimes, the shingles rash occurs around one eye or on one side of the neck or
face.

Pain is usually the first symptom of shingles. For some, it can be intense, with just the
slightest touch causing severe pain. Sometimes the pain can be mistaken for other
problems or diseases, such as kidney stones, gallstones or appendicitis, depending on
its location. Some people experience the pain without the rash, which makes
diagnosing shingles more difficult.

Varicella-zoster is part of a group of viruses called herpes viruses, which includes the viruses that cause cold sores and genital herpes. Many of these viruses can lie hidden in your nervous system after an initial infection and remain inactive for years before causing another infection.

Anyone who's had chickenpox may develop shingles. If your immune system doesn't destroy the entire virus during the initial infection, the remaining virus can enter your nervous system and lie hidden for years. Eventually, it may reactivate and travel along nerve pathways to your skin \u2014 producing the shingles.

The reason for the encore is unclear. But it may be due to lowered immunity to
infections as you grow older. Shingles is more common in older adults and in those
who have weak immune systems.

Anyone who's had chickenpox has the potential of developing shingles. However, it's most common in older adults: More than half the shingles cases occur in adults over 60.

In addition, people with weakened immune systems from HIV/AIDS, those who are receiving medical treatments, such as steroids, radiation and chemotherapy, or those who have a history of bone or lymphatic cancer are more likely to develop shingles. Most people develop shingles only once, but recurrences in other areas are possible.

A person with shingles can pass the varicella-zoster virus to anyone who hasn't had
chickenpox before. This usually occurs through direct contact with the open sores of
the shingles rash. Once infected, the person will develop chickenpox, however, not
shingles. The infection can be serious for certain groups of people with immune
system deficiencies. The varicella-zoster virus cannot be spread to another person
with a normal immune system who has already had chickenpox.