Shingles is a viral infection caused by herpes zoster. Herpes zoster is the virus that causes chickenpox and one the symptoms of chickenpox have passed, the virus continues to lay dormant in the nerve endings of the body. This means only people who have had chickenpox can get shingles. People who have never had chickenpox or have received an immunization for chickenpox cannot develop an outbreak shingles. 

Once exposed to herpes zoster, it is not possible to get rid of the virus but most people will never experience a recurrent outbreak. For an unlucky few, the virus will awaken again causing shingles. Sufferers of shingles are often older adults, often past 50, or people who have had their immune system repressed in some way such as by stress, injury or medication. 

The symptoms of shingles occur in stages. For the first few days, the sufferer will feel tired, have headaches and sensitivity to light. The symptoms of an outbreak of shingles may first feel like the flu and at this stage it is very hard to differentiate the two. The person will then develop a sharp, shooting pain or irritating, itchy pain in a localized area which will turn into a rash. This nerve pain is the byproduct of the virus flaring up in the nerve endings. 

The most common places for a rash are the torso and face. On the torso, the rash most often wraps from the chest to the back on one side of the body in a band. The virus may never progress past this point and it may be difficult for a doctor to definitively diagnose the rash. If the virus does progress, fluid-filled blisters will appear over the course of a couple days. At this stage, the virus is easily diagnosable. The rash and blisters will resemble chickenpox. Within one or two weeks, these blisters will erupt and scab over. While it may only take a month for the blisters to disappear, continued pain called postherpetic neuralgia may continue for many months or years along the nerve endings affected by shingles. 

If you are concerned you have shingles, immediately make a doctor’s appointment. While there is no cure for shingles, there are medications and antivirals to suppress the pain and shorten the symptoms. In addition, stay quarantined from people who have never had chicken pox. While shingles is not contagious to people who have already been exposed to herpes zoster, it is contagious to those who have never been exposed to the virus.