Shingles is caused by the same virus that leads to chickenpox. It usually strikes adults, and it is more painful than chickenpox. Here are some facts to help you get familiar with shingles.

What Is Shingles?

Shingles is the name given to a painful rash that can extend from the middle of the back around one side of the body to the breastbone. This half band rash is red and itchy, forming into fluid-filled blisters that break open, crust over and dry.

If you’ve ever had chickenpox as a kid, then you usually don’t get it again. With each infection in your body, the immune system creates antibodies. These are effective in repelling the same invader the next time.

However, chickenpox doesn’t disappear, but can remain dormant for years in your nerve cells. In many people these viral cells can reawaken as they age, and can lead to another outbreak of this virus. Now the condition is known as shingles.

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