Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person has chickenpox, the virus stays in their body and can reactivate later in life and cause shingles. The reason for reactivation is unclear, but it may be due to lowered immunity to infections as people get older. Shingles can occur anywhere on the body, but it typically looks like a single stripe of blisters that wraps around the left or right side of the torso.
Anyone who has had chickenpox can develop shingles. However, the risk of developing shingles increases with age, and most people get shingles in their 50s or later in life. People who have weakened immune systems, such as those with cancer, medications, or chronic illness, are also at increased risk of developing shingles.
Shingles is not contagious, but a person with shingles can spread the varicella-zoster virus to others who have never had chickenpox or never got the chickenpox vaccine. These people can get infected with the virus through direct contact with the fluid from shingles rash blisters or breathing in virus particles that come from the blisters. If they get infected, they will develop chickenpox, not shingles.
In summary, shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person has chickenpox, the virus stays in their body and can reactivate later in life and cause shingles. The reason for reactivation is unclear, but it may be due to lowered immunity to infections as people get older. Anyone who has had chickenpox can develop shingles, but the risk of developing shingles increases with age and in people with weakened immune systems. Shingles is not contagious, but a person with shingles can spread the virus to others who have never had chickenpox or never got the chickenpox vaccine.
